James Delahunty
10 Apr 2009 9:57
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group has said it will unveil the full details of the new Bluetooth 3.0 specification on April 21. The new version of the popular standard will allow users to transfer photos, music, videos and other information at much greater speeds. It will speed up the transfers in many ways, one of which is the ability to utilize Wi-Fi via an 802.11 Protocol Adaption Layer when it is available.
It does not require Wi-Fi to be available to work, it will simply switch back to regular Bluetooth in non-Wi-Fi areas. Enhanced Power Control will also reduce the number of disconnects that Bluetooth suffers from. Bluetooth technology is facing tough competition in a growing market for wireless data transfer solutions.
Nokia has released a handset using near-field communication that can be tied to a credit card account, for example. Sony also has plans to push its new TransferJet technology, which it boasts can transfer data at a rate of 560 Mbps.