Bluetooth version 3 to support Wifi
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
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The bluetooth version 3 will be able to use the 802.11 Wi-Fi radio to establish a wireless connection. A 3.0 Bluetooth stack would be able to switch from the standard low-power, short-range Bluetooth radio to an 802.11a/b/g radio. This means that the transfer speeds on the 11g and 11a will be between 20-24 Megabits per second compared to a maximum today of up to 3 Megabits per second in 2.4 GigaHertz for Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate.
Another new feature in 3.0 is Enhanced Power Control, which is intended to cut the number of disconnects that can be caused by movement such as placing a handset or other Bluetooth device into a pocket or purse.
“This is the wireless technology equivalent of a low hanging fruit,” Bluetooth SIG executive director Michael Foley said in a statement. “What we are doing is taking classic Bluetooth connections--using Bluetooth protocols, profiles, security and other architectural elements--and allowing it to jump on top of the already present 802.11 radio, when necessary, to send bulky entertainment data, faster.”
This paves way for wireless bulk synchronization of music libraries between PC and MP3 player, bulk download of photos to a printer or PC and video file transfer from camera or phone to computer or TV at a rate of 3 megabits per second, according to the Bluetooth SIG.
The ultimate goal of the Bluetooth SIG is to produce a 480Mbps wireless Bluetooth standard, which would allow it to favorably compete with the wired USB 3.0 standard operating at the same speeds.
"We're committed to speedy wireless personal area network connections, and we'll always be looking for the best near-term and long-term way to accomplish that," Foley said. "The greatness of a generic alternate radio architecture being developed is that it's adaptable."
[Source: ComputerWorld]
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