Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Apr. 24, 2009

The next version of Bluetooth wireless technology is expected to transfer data of up to ten times faster than the current implementation.

Mobile devices using it could be on the market by March 2010, industry observers say.

The consortium behind the technology, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, say it has united on a common industry standard for Bluetooth version 3.0, which will include an option for the faster data transfers.

Those could be useful for moving music or movies from a PC to a cell phone or media player.

While Bluetooth version 3.0 with the high-speed option is ten times faster than current Bluetooth, it's still about 20 times slower than a USB cable, so it will likely be less than ideal for a complete music library or a long movie.

Three Bluetooth chip companies, Atheros Communications, Broadcom and CSR said they had products that would work with the new high-speed option.

When the Bluetooth chip is called on to transfer a large file, it borrows a Wi-Fi chip in the same gadget to make the actual transfer.

When and if the Wi-Fi chip isn't needed, Bluetooth turns it off, helping conserve power. It can then maintain a low-power connection with the Bluetooth chip.

Three years ago, a combination of Bluetooth and a different and potentially even faster radio technology, ultrawideband, was announced, but delays in getting it to work prompted the Bluetooth group to look at Wi-Fi.

Then the Wi-Fi-based technology was also delayed. When the Bluetooth group talked about that work early last year, it said mobile gadgets could be on the market by July 2009.

Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

    This article was featured on Business 5.0 and on Tech Blog.

Source: The Bluetooth Special Interest Group.