The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has adopted a second generation Bluetooth specification, said to increase data rates up to three times and reduce power consumption by up to half. Bluetooth Core Specification Version 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) is also backwards compatible with previous specifications, the organization says.

“The motivation behind 2.0 + EDR was to improve existing usage scenarios which require increased data throughput, like streaming CD-quality audio, digital image transfer, and laser printing,” explained Dr. Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG.

According to the Bluetooth SIG, the main features of the Bluetooth Core Specification Version 2.0 + EDR are:

• 3 times faster transmission speed (up to 10 times in certain cases)
  
• Lower power consumption through reduced duty cycle
  
• Simplification of multi-link scenarios due to more available bandwidth
  
• Backwards compatible to earlier versions
  
• Further improved BER (Bit Error Rate) performance

Chips now, end products soon

Chips which implement the new spec are available immediately from Broadcom and CSR, and will arrive in Q1 2005 from RF Micro Devices. During 2005, end products compatible with the new spec are anticipated to make their first appearance in the PC industry, followed by audio and imagine devices later in the year.

 
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