Bluetooth 4.0 Standard Officially Official, We Can Already Forget About Bluetooth 3.0 [New Bluetooth 4.0 Standard Rolled Out Before We’re Done with Its Predecessor]

Posted on TFTS by Chris Smith on Wednesday, 21. April 2010 under: Computers & Computing, Devices, Mobile/Cell Phones, PCs, Notebooks, Netbooks & Tablets

Bluetooth 4.0 is not something we desperately need on our future smartphones or mobile devices but since the new standard is “ready to roll” we’ll gladly have it. Bluetooth 3.0 has not even made an impact yet and we’re about to move to the next generation of Bluetooth connectivity.

Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director of the Bluetooth SIG talked about the new Bluetooth version:

Bluetooth v4.0 throws open the doors to a host of new markets for Bluetooth manufacturers and products such as watches, remote controls, and a variety of medical and in-home sensors. Many of these products run on button-cell batteries that must last for years versus hours and will also benefit from the longer range enabled by this new version of the Bluetooth specification.

Bluetooth v4.0 will offer you three specifications in one: Classic Bluetooth technology, Bluetooth low energy technology and Bluetooth High Speed technology. These three specs can be used simultaneously or separately by different devices.

Why is that important? Well depending of the Bluetooth-enabled device you are about to use, you’ll actually be relying on a certain Bluetooth technology. For small gadgets like pedometers and glucose monitors the low energy technology will be used. Specific watches could collect data from various sensors using low energy technology and then send that data to computers through regular Classic technology.

Mobile phones and PCs will use all three of them with the Classic, low energy and high speed technology running “side by side.” Bluetooth v4.0 will offer you an improved range of up to 200 feet and even more which will come in handy when using it for in-home sensor applications where decent ranges are required.

Bluetooth v4.0 will be available in our smartphones and PCs in late 2010 or early 2011. Of course, if by that time Bluetooth v5.0 will appear will ignore v4.0 just like we did with its predecessor, Bluetooth 3.0.