I love Bluetooth, but compared to a good WiFi connection, it’s lacking in speed and range. A new standard slated for April is about to dismiss the speed issue. No such luck on the range, but I’m still very impressed.
Gizmodo shows a vid of the new and extremely clever “alternate MAC/PHY” spec from the Bluetooth SIG in action. Here’s how it works. Two Bluetooth-enabled devices pair up as usual. Data then is transferred over a WiFi layer at up to 54Mbps. Upon completion of the transfer, WiFi drops out of the equation and Bluetooth takes back control. Think of it like Bluetooth setting up a very short-term, specific purpose ad-hoc WiFi network.
The Bluetooth SIG expects this functionality to be used in cases like these:
- Wirelessly bulk synchronize music libraries between PC and MP3 player
- Bulk download photos to a printer or PC
- Send video files from camera or phone to computer or television
The new spec should be useful for those times when your devices aren’t on the same wireless network: a quick Bluetooth pairing and you transfer data at WiFi speeds without having to jump through network setup hoops. Even better news: Broadcom told Giz that some of their current Bluetooth chips already support the spec, pending a software update.
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2009\/02\/19\/bluetooth-over-wifi-looks-amazing\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_750579ffe953170140bf7af19896f03c","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}