Sybase iAnywhere is shipping an Android version of its iAnywhere Blue SDK (software developer kit). iAnywhere Blue SDK for Android improves upon Android's Bluetooth module by offering the latest industry standard application profiles for the v2.1 version of the short-range wireless technology, says the company.

Available for Linux and other platforms, Blue SDK is part of a family of iAnywhere mobile SDKs for Bluetooth, IrDA, OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) Device Management, and OMA Data Synchronization protocols. The SDKs are designed to help OEMs/ODMs integrate wireless connectivity and synchronization into mobile devices, says Sybase's Sybase iAnywhere division.

Bluetooth support has come slowly to Android. Release 1.0 only offered only barebones Bluetooth support, with very limited support for Bluetooth profiles. The recent Android 1.5, however, introduced a more robust stereo Bluetooth stack.

Compliant with the Bluetooth v2.1 +EDR stack, Sybase iAnywhere Blue SDK for Android builds upon Android's native support to provide a number of additional application profiles. Other touted benefits of Blue SDK include reduced development costs and testing cycles, a large customer base of OEMs, and technical support and full product documentation for integrating Blue SDK into the Android framework.

Application profiles supported by the iAnywhere Blue SDK for Android are said to include:

• Handsfree (HFP)
• Advanced Audio Distribution (A2DP)
• A/V Remote Control (AVRCP)
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• Object Push Protocol (OPP)
• SIM Access (SAP)
• Phone Book Access (PBAP)
• Message Access Profile (MAP)
• Human Interface (HID)
• Basic Printing (BPP)
• Basic Imaging (BIP)

The Blue iAnywhere SDK provides the underlying Bluetooth services already supported in Android, including Generic Access and Handsfree, Advanced Audio Distribution (HAAD), and therefore requires "minimal to no changes to pre-existing applications," says Sybase iAnywhere. The SDK's Bluetooth Services module replaces Android's version, and provides all interfaces into the underlying Bluetooth profiles and protocols, says the company.

The Blue SDK also supplies profiles and Bluetooth stack components, which are said to be available separately and operate in a Linux v2.6.x environment consistent with Android's implementation. Additional modules are made resident beneath Android's Dalvik Java machine, providing interfaces to profiles and enabling direct access to the stack for connection management (see diagram below).

iAnywhere Blue SDK, as integrated into Android, with iAnywhere components labeled with logo
(Click to enlarge)

In April, Beijing, China-based IVT Corp. announced the availability of what it claims is the world's first Bluetooth 3.0+HS commercial stack for the Linux-based Android. Also supporting Moblin, the stack will be built into IVT's Linux-compatible BlueSoleil 7.0 "multi-wireless connection manager." Bluetooth 3.0 enables Bluetooth to piggyback onto WiFi bandwidth when available on the same device.

Stated Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director, Bluetooth SIG, "Sybase customers can use the new Sybase iAnywhere Blue SDK with confidence knowing that the software has passed Bluetooth qualification and rigorous testing at interoperability test events."

Availability

Sybase iAnywhere Blue SDK for Android is now available, says the company. More information on the iAnywhere Blue SDK for Android may be found here, and more on all the Blue SDK products may be found here.

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