Extended Systems is shipping a new version of its off-the-shelf Bluetooth stack and developer kit for embedded Linux. The kit comprises Linux 2.4 module source code implementing the Bluetooth protocol stack and various profiles. It should be qualified in September for 2.0+EDR (extended data-rate) support, the company says.

Extended Systems says its Bluetooth SDK allows Linux device developers to add Bluetooth functionality without deep knowledge of the Bluetooth protocol. The SDK is a mature product that was updated to the Bluetooth 1.1 spec in 2001, and revised to support a broader array of Bluetooth radio hardware in 2003.

Extended Systems also markets IrDA stacks, as well as synchronization software for mobile devices. Its Bluetooth SDK is written in portable code, and is also commercially available for Windows CE, though with different profile support, according to Glade Diviney, manager of embedded systems platforms.

The XTNDAccess Blue SDK protocol stock supports the following Bluetooth profiles:

• HCI
• L2CAP
• RFCOMM
• OBEX, and the Service Discovery
• Serial Port
• Generic Object Exchange
• File Transfer
• Object Push
• Dial Up Networking

Additional qualified profiles, such as the Human Interface Device (HID) profile, are available separately. Support for Headset, Hands-Free, and Audio/Video is scheduled for delivery by the end of calendar year 2005, the company says.

Extended Systems competitor Altinav added HID and A/V profile support to its stack earlier this year. In November of last year, another vendor, Cambridge Consultants, shipped a Linux Bluetooth stack. The Bluetooth 2.0 spec was adopted at about the same time.

Nathan Pendleton, VP of mobile device solutions, said, “As a wireless protocol stack provider for more than nine years and provider of Bluetooth protocol stacks since 2000, we have been involved in hundreds of Bluetooth implementations. There is now a definite trend among worldwide device manufacturers to use Linux as their operating system of choice.”

Additional details, including a gee-whiz video demonstrating an Audi/Treo Bluetooth interface, and a registration form for an online seminar set for October 12, can be found on the company's website.

 
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