Potential rivals Wibree of Nokia and Bluetooth come together to bring wireless connections to devices that are too small for Bluetooth chips.
While Bluetooth technology allows devices to be wirelessly connected, it is also known to consume too much battery power, limiting its use to bigger devices such as cellphones, laptops, and wireless headsets. Wibree, on the other hand, which was developed by Nokia, works on a lower data rate and power than Bluetooth. Hence, the Wibree technology allows for smaller batteries with longer battery life.
With the Bluetooth technology and Wibree together, Bluetooth Special Interest Group hopes to look into the possibility of creating products such as small wearable gadgets that can sense and communicate with Bluetooth-clad cellphones, toys, or computers such that, for example, a watch could receive text messages, or a toy could sense the presence of another toy.
“Our members have been asking for an ultra low power Bluetooth solution. With Nokia’s innovative development and contribution to the Bluetooth specification with Wibree, we will be able to deliver this in approximately a year,” said Michael Foley, director of the Bluetooth SIG.
Nokia started developing Wibree in 2001, and launched the technology in October last year.
Originally posted on June 13, 2007 @ 6:42 am