Bluetooth 3.0 Days Away, Billed As a Major Improvement

Have you ever had the frustrating experience of buying a device or computer that you’ve really had your eyes on, only to find out that a much improved alternative is available only days later? If so, you’re not alone. It’s a common complaint that I’ve heard from both savvy web workers and casual users. If you’re in the market for any type of Bluetooth-enabled device — and Bluetooth is a key component in many types of hardware — this may be a good week to delay your purchase for a few days in anticipation of next week’s announcement of Bluetooth 3.0.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has confirmed that it will announce the arrival of and specifications for Bluetooth 3.0 next Tuesday, April 21st. It’s expected to be a major improvement over existing Bluetooth technology.

This next generation of Bluetooth wireless technology has been one of a group of wireless technologies predicted to usher in many new kinds of applications. Ultra-wideband and Wireless USB are competitors, but Bluetooth is far more prevalent than those technologies now, and the next version will pack a serious punch.

The Bluetooth 3.0 standard is expected to deliver short-range wireless speeds of up to 480 Mbps, and a really notable advancement is that it will allow devices such as cell phones and digital cameras to switch to compatible Wi-Fi connections (sharing them, not taking them over) for large transfers of data. According to the Bluetooth SIG, this will allow for applications such as wirelessly transferring entire collections of digital photos from cameras or phones with performance and reliability comparable to what you get using Wi-Fi now. You should be able to work wirelessly in new ways with many other types of rich media as well.

In other words, if everything works as advertised with Bluetooth 3.0, it will be much more desirable to have it in your new device than previous generation Bluetooth. There’s the rub, though. The Bluetooth SIG hasn’t yet made clear whether external upgrades will be available for existing devices, or whether new devices based on Bluetooth 3.0 will arrive along with next week’s announcement.

I’ve covered Bluetooth for a while now, and expect that a large number of devices incorporating the new technology will be announced next week, following the pattern of previous Bluetooth announcements. For that reason, especially if you depend heavily on wireless technology, keep your eyes out for the details on Bluetooth 3.0 next Tuesday.

Are you looking forward to Bluetooth 3.0?

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