DailyTech - Bluetooth 3.0 Specifications Announced

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Gadgets Bluetooth 3.0 Specifications Announced
Michael Barkoviak - April 22, 2009 7:30 AM

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13 comment(s) - last by Guspaz.. on Apr 26 at 11:24 AM

Bluetooth 3.0 officially launched

The latest version of Bluetooth, Bluetooth 3.0 + HS, was officially launched during a recent meeting among the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG).

Based off of the 802.11 protocol, Bluetooth 3.0 will increase transfer speeds from 3Mbps up to an impressive 23Mbps, according to Bluetooth supporters. The technology is based on Wi-Fi standards and offers power-saving benefits that weren't available with Bluetooth 2.1.

"Utilizing the 802.11 radio was a natural choice as it provides efficiencies for both our members and consumers -- members get more function out of the two radios they are already including in devices, and consumers with Bluetooth 3.0 HS products will get faster exchange of information without changing how they connect," Bluetooth SIG director Michael Foley said in a statement. "We are excited to expand the possibilities of the PAN."

During the announcement, Bluetooth 3.0 is expected to be used to help transfer large amounts of information between PCs and media devices, with wireless syncing available. Bluetooth has mainly been used by mobile phones, but the faster speeds should lead to Bluetooth adoption with more camcorders, TVs, Blu-ray players, cameras, and other consumer devices.

Even though Bluetooth 3.0 is out and about, many manufacturers are just now catching up to the Bluetooth 2.0 standard. Furthermore, no Bluetooth 3.0 devices are available on the consumer at the moment, and won't begin shipping until Q3 this year, if that early.

Tech journalists and analysts long-anticipated the launch of Bluetooth 3.0, and have high expectations of what it will be able to do in the future. Users will be able to transfer music library, DVDs, and photos all in a matter of seconds, a Bluetooth SIG statement said last week.

Foley said there could be a handful of Bluetooth 3.0 devices in time for the 2009 holiday shopping, but officials don't expect a significant amount of products until next year.

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New uses

By Lazarus Dark on 4/22/2009 8:46:24 AM , Rating: 2

Is this fast enough for PCM stereo?

I can't stand the thought of using current stereo BT for music due to compression, but I'd love to stream PCM from my phone to the car radio or to my friends receiver without having to hook up any cables.

Also, if PCM is possible, I have always thought it would be great to integrate this into Home theater receivers. The receiver could have multiple BT3.0 antennas and stream PCM to each speaker independently, thereby keeping it digital all the way to the speaker and having the dac built into the powered speaker, with the only thing coming off of the speaker being a power cord. This would free up a lot of people to jump on Surround sound as many simply do not like running speaker wire across the room. Also upgrading speakers would be so much easier. Want more power? just upgrade the powered speaker, you don't need a new receiver or amp.

RE: New uses

By Jeffk464 on 4/22/2009 11:25:19 AM , Rating: 2

I agree, it would be awsome to have blue tooth built in to car and home stereos. It would make mp3 players and gps units a piece of cake to set up.

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RE: New uses

By jconan on 4/22/2009 9:30:00 PM , Rating: 2

if you have ad2p streaming audio is no problem with bt 2.1 and doesn't really work with bt 2.0 since the audio is constantly clipped and delayed..

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RE: New uses

By Guspaz on 4/26/2009 11:24:19 AM , Rating: 2

CD audio is about 1.2mbit/s, so even the existing standard is fast enough for that.

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WiFi

By boushidosan on 4/22/2009 8:48:58 AM , Rating: 2

I think my question would be if you could broadcast that 802.x signal for Wireless tethering if it were, say.. for the ultimate traveler on the go?

Otherwise It would be great if I could wirelessly sync my contacts from a cellular device to a folder on my desktop

RE: WiFi

By scavio on 4/22/2009 8:58:40 AM , Rating: 3

You can already turn Windows Mobile Phones into a wireless hotspot using WMWifiRouter http://wmwifirouter.com/ . I use it on my Touch Pro and it works well.

You can do wireless syncing now with bluetooth, no need for a new spec for that.

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I guess...

By DeepBlue1975 on 4/22/2009 8:53:17 AM , Rating: 2

The first we're gonna have are 3.0 bt compliant devices... And about 1-2 years later, some of them will start actually taking advantage of the extra bandwidth.

Necessary step, though. What I don't get is why has it taken so long to develop a new BT interface, if this one operates on top of something already existing as wi fi is, it's even more of a reinterpretation than an evolutionary step.

I can foresee BT ceasing to exist to become just a subset protocol of existing wi-fi connections for its next iterations.

RE: I guess...

By jhb116 on 4/23/2009 1:05:45 AM , Rating: 2

True - but if they did make a smart decision to use the same 802.11 specs to help define BT3 - adaptation might go much quicker since 802.11 has been around for some time now. All they really need to do is adapt an existing spec to the Bluetooth frequencies/power levels. This may be possible with a firmware update depending on the differences.

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By Visual on 4/22/2009 8:41:32 AM , Rating: 1

"...available on the consumer at the moment...", fix this.

I also wonder about a couple of details.
Will it require that you have a wifi access point set up already, or will some devices have that built-in?
I assume an access point will be required, but will that need to be some special-purpose bluetooth 3 device, or any old one can do the trick? With or without some special software?
Will it also work accross routers and ethernet cables? How can they keep it a local connection only?

RE: q

By HelToupee on 4/22/2009 9:34:00 AM , Rating: 2

the way I understand it is that both the devices will have WiFi radios and BT 3.0 radios. When high-speed data transfer is needed, the BT 3.0 hardware talks to the WiFi hardware and sets up an Ad-Hoc network between the 2 devices to handle the transfer. This network won't require (or probably even allow) anything more than the 2 communicating devices. No router, access point, or anything required. You can do this today with 2 devices with WiFi, like, say my laptop and jailbroken iPod Touch.

This is mostly possible now with current hardware, but it's not in the spec for BT 2.0, so someone would have to hack something together, so it wouldn't be standard across all devices.

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What's the range?

By Curelom on 4/22/2009 10:58:04 AM , Rating: 2

What's the range for BT3? One of the problems with BT was not only lack of speed, but lack of distance.

I really look foward to the low power units

By BZDTemp on 4/22/2009 6:29:38 PM , Rating: 2

Imagine putting sensors + low power Bluetooth in all sorts of places. Your server could monitor all things electric in you home wireless and using only very little power.

Finally Device to make Camcorder transmit Wireless??

By Yeah on 4/23/2009 12:33:03 PM , Rating: 2

Is this what I am waiting for to make my Sony Mini DVD Handicam transmit A / V wirelessly to my router/laptop? I've been searching for a feasable way to do this for almost a year. Can anyone say that this is exactly what I have been searching for?