Higher speeds and better battery life are among the new features for the Bluetooth 3.0 specification, officially revealed today.
The most significant addition to the short-range wireless technology is the use of the 802.11 radio protocol. When a Wi-Fi connection is available, Bluetooth will latch on and use the more powerful radio frequency to send data at 24 Mbps instead of the usual 3 Mbps. We found a strange quote from executive director Michael Foley regarding the announcement: "Like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights, this latest version was ‘born to go fast,’" he said. Okay, then.
Devices that use the new Bluetooth specification will also get longer battery life thanks to built-in power controls. PC World says the enhanced power control will also cut down on disconnects when the Bluetooth device is being moved around.
Outside of the typical hands-free cellphone devices (picture above via The Onion), higher speeds should make Bluetooth more attractive to consumers of other electronics. Bluetooth SIG envisions the synchronization of music libraries between computer and player, bulk downloading of photos and even video transfer to camera phones and TVs.
On this front, the standard might face some competition from Wireless USB, a short-range standard in development that claims 480 Mbps transfers. Foley said that the same ultrawideband technology might be integrated into Bluetooth down the line, "but at this point it's too early to tell," according to the PC World report.
The Bluetooth SIG says member companies are working on getting silicon solutions to device manufacturers, so we should start seeing products with the latest specification in nine to 12 months.
