New Bluetooth 4.0 Specification has revealed

Bluetooth is one of the many technologies that many of use couldn’t get through a day without using. It connects us to our phones, our cars, and a myriad of other devices we use for entertainment and work.

The Bluetooth SIG has announced the release of Bluetooth Core Specification 4.0 and an enhancement to the specification called Bluetooth low energy is also part of the package. Bluetooth low energy will allow a myriad of devices that were previously unable to utilize Bluetooth to take advantage of the specifications and connectivity it offers. Bluetooth low energy will be ideal for markets like healthcare, sport and fitness, security, and home entertainment. The Bluetooth SIG claims that devices using Bluetooth low energy can last for years with power from common coin-cell batteries.

Data transfers with the low power specification will be at 1Mbps with very short data packets of 8-octet minimum and 27-octet maximum. The specification uses adaptive frequency hopping common to all versions of Bluetooth and operates in the 2.4GHz ISM band. Latency for the spec is as low as 3ms allowing an authenticated session to be established and data sent in a tiny amount of time.

Bluetooth 4.0 Features

• Ultra-low peak
• Average and idle mode power consumption
• Low cost
• Multi vendor interoperability
• Ability to run for years on standard coin-cell batteries
• Enhanced range

It is expected that new Bluetooth 4.0 devices will start arriving in the 4th quarter of this year. Bluetooth SIG does mention that the new low power functions will allow for a whole range of new products to embed the service. With devices capable of lasing years we could see some unique sensors being created and many other things that people have yet to think of.