Bluetooth 1.2 Officially Adopted

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group has announced the adoption of Bluetooth Specification Version 1.2. The updated version of the core specification includes new features intended to bring about a better experience for users.

Bluetooth 1.2 introduces Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH), which was 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. 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.

"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.

In addition, this version of the wireless technology allows for even faster connections to other Bluetooth wireless devices, thus improving the user experience.

Bluetooth 1.2 also offers Enhanced Voice Processing -- designed to improve the quality of voice connections, particularly in noisy environments, using error detection methodologies.

As a core feature, the new version of the Bluetooth Core Specification is backward compatible with Bluetooth 1.1 products, allowing users of nearly all existing Bluetooth equipped devices to easily work with products built to the new Specification.

Consumer products that incorporate the new version of the Specification are expected to begin shipping in the next quarter, with greater volumes arriving in the market over the next 12-18 months.

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