Bluetooth Version 1.2 specifications unveiled

Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group) has adopted v1.2 of the Bluetooth Specifications:

This new version of the Bluetooth Core Specification was designed for developers by developers with a view toward a more positive user experience and the future wireless world. The current specification is included in over 1000 products as diverse as computer mice and mobile phones to automobiles and various computing products. Version 1.2 is also intended to set the stage for the development of a growing number of mainstream products such as more feature rich mobile phones, headsets, PDAs, digital music players, cameras and laptops in a consumer's Personal Area Network.

• Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) – AFH was explicitly designed to reduce interference between wireless technologies sharing the 2.4 GHz spectrum. Cordless telephones, microwave ovens and certain Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) technologies, including IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g, generally share the same wireless frequencies as Bluetooth wireless technology. AFH works within the spectrum to take advantage of the available frequencies without limiting the Bluetooth transmission to a set of frequencies occupied by other technologies. This 'adaptive hopping' allows for more efficient transmission within the spectrum, thereby providing the user with greater performance, even if using other technologies along with the Bluetooth wireless technology.
  
•  Enhanced Voice Processing – This feature is designed to improve the quality of voice connections, particularly in noisy environments, using error detection methodologies.
  
•  Faster Connection Setup – This version of the wireless technology allows for even faster connections to other Bluetooth wireless devices, thus improving the user experience.
  
•  Backward Compatible – As a core feature, the new version of the Bluetooth Core Specification is backward compatible with 1.1 Bluetooth Core Specification Version 1.1 products, allowing users of nearly all existing Bluetooth equipped devices to easily work with products built to the new Specification.
  
• "The Bluetooth Core Specification Version 1.2 adaptive frequency hopping feature opens up possibilities for complimentary wireless technologies to coexist in devices such as PCs, PDAs, and mobile phones," said Wiliam Clark, research director at Gartner, Inc.

The first products based on the new Bluetooth specifications can be expected in next quarter.