Bluetooth

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) yesterday officialy adopted the Bluetooth 3.0+HS (high speed) specification. The Bluetooth 3.0 +HS spec will allow devices that have both Bluetooth 3.0 +HS and Wi-Fi to pair via Bluetooth and transfer data via Wi-Fi at rates up to 24 Mbps, which is about 10 times faster than the previous incarnation, Bluetooth v2.1 +EDR (enhanced data rate). This will allow users to transfer large amounts of data wirelessly. The new spec also addresses power control issues to reduce battery drain.

Within 24 hours of the Bluetooth SIG adopting the new standard, leading communications semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom announced that its InConcert BCM4325 Bluetooth + Wi-Fi + FM chip and the associated BTE software have qualified as compliant with the new Bluetooth 3.0 +HS standard. While competing manufacturers have been using multiple components to implement the

With another name that just rolls off your tongue, Sony will soon release its new Bluetooth earphones dubbed the DR-BT140QP. Aside from the name these earphones look to be a promising piece of hardware.

The sleek looking earpieces offer Bluetooth 2.0+EDR connectivity and supports A2DP/AVRCP/HFP/HSP profiles. The earphones have built in Lithium-ion batteries that, on a full charge, will allow for up to twelve hours of listening time and up to 200 hours standby, which is more

One of the oddities on display at this year's CeBIT show in Hannover, Germany is the perCushion. Designed by Urban Tool, it is basically a pillow with Bluetooth built in to it, so instead having to constantly switch your handset from one tired arm to the other, now you can just lay there and talk.

The perCushion measures 54 x 33 x 13 cm and has a cotton/velvet surface. Buttons for pairing, volume, answering and ending calls are located on the end of the pillow along with the speakers and microphone and LED indicators. A built in battery allows for up to eight hours of talk time and 300 hours

You can probably guess by its descriptive name what Sony's new DRC-BT15 dongle does. It turns your everyday pair of wired headphones into a Bluetooth stereo headset. You simply clip the three inch long, half ounce device to your shirt pocket or arm band, plug your headphones' jack into it and voila!, your headphones wires now only travel one foot instead of three.

The device has a simple toggle control that allows you to adjust volume, stop, pause, fast-forward and rewind. The DRC-BT15 is also equipped with a microphone, so it can be used as a hands-free

One of the more notable (and creepy) entries at the Greener Gadgets Design Competition 2008 was the Digital Tattoo Interface. Conceptualized by Jim Mielke, the device is basically an implanted, bio-powered mobile phone. Imagine hearing a ring and rather than reaching for your pocket you roll up your sleeve and press a dot on your forearm. A two by four inch tattoo of a phone's digital display materializes on your skin along with a keypad. The display animates as a digital video of the caller and then disappears when the call is over.

In Mielke's mind the Bluetooth device would be permanently implanted beneath the skin. It is basically a flat, flexible silicon and silicone pad that would be tightly rolled and inserted through a small incision. Once inside it would unroll and lie harmlessly between the muscle and the skin. Two tubes would then

In 2006 the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) selected WiMedia Alliance brand of ultra wideband technology as the future high speed channel for Bluetooth, a project that is still in development. With so many devices demanding greater speeds the Bluetooth SIG decided an interim solution was

necessary, and they announced one today in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress. Since so many devices already use IEEE 802.11 the solution is for Bluetooth to basically piggyback on 802.11 radio

Verizon Wireless today introduced the Venturi Mini, a portable device that allows you to stream music to your car's FM radio from any Bluetooth enabled music phone you may have. Additionally the

Venturi Mini can turn your car's speakers into a speakerphone system. It connects to your vehicle via the standard 12v outlet and to your device via Bluetooth. The Mini's built in FM transmitter then broadcasts