Wibree, Nokia's new standard, to replace Bluetooth
We all love Bluetooth, given that, among other things, it powers our lovely cordless headsets and nicely syncs our Treos with our laptops. But just as we were snuggling into a long-term relationship with this fantastic short-range technology, Nokia has to come out with a new wireless connectivity standard called Wibree (no, not WiBro). Nokia claims that Wibree maintains a data rate of 1Mbps (not as good as Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, which tops out at 2.1Mbps) at a range of up to 30 feet (yes, Class 1 Bluetooth can go up to 100 meters), operates in the 2.4 GHz band, but says that it's "10 times more energy efficient than Bluetooth," according to Bob Iannucci, head of Nokia Research Center. Nokia also said that it's working with Broadcom, CSR, Epson, Nordic Semicondutor and other companies to further develop the standard so that Wibree products can be released by the second quarter of 2007. It seems like Nokia is gambling pretty hard on this Wibree standard, given that the industry and consumers have invested tons of cash in Bluetooth-friendly products already and will no doubt be reluctant to get a whole new set of Wibree-friendly devices. That said, Reuters reports that "Nokia expects devices currently connected by Bluetooth will get a dual Bluetooth-Wibree chip, while devices that are currently not connected will use a Wibree-only chip." That smells like a huckster's gambit to us -- for all this hoopla about efficient power usage, that extra radio will no doubt draw additional power, which will certainly undermine some of Nokia's claims.Read - Nokia press release
Read - Reuters
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Shon @ Oct 3rd 2006 5:39PM
Stupid. all we need is another format war.. bluetooth vs wibree and bluray vs hdeedvdee. im pretty sure bluetooth is a bit more accepted.. hell even the prepaid clientelle are using bluetooth...
Ed Hardy @ Oct 3rd 2006 5:45PM
"Wibree, Nokia's new standard, to replace Bluetooth"
Guys, did you read Nokia's release? It said about 13 times that the point of Wibree is not to replace Bluetooth.
The plan to to create a wireless networking standard for very low-power devices. And, as Nokia pointed out repeatedly in its announcement, this will only be for devices that are too low power for Bluetooth.
Any engineer worth his salt is capable of making a chip that offers both Bluetooth and Wibree without being a huge drain.
It won't even be hard. Any current handheld or smartphone can keep a Bluetooth radio running in the background without a significant drain on its battery. I know; I do it all the time. It's only when the connection is active that the significant power drain begins.
I know it seems like I'm arguing both sides, but hear me out. An active Bluetooth connection takes too much power for many devices. But an in-active connection takes almost none. That's why a single chip with both Wibree and Bluetooth makes sense.
Scale back the cynicism.
r0n @ Oct 3rd 2006 7:12PM
For real, you guys ever hear of fact checking? Way too much sensationalist tripe on this website...
Shon S. @ Oct 5th 2006 7:32PM
this is rediculous, after bluetooth is supported in almost all cell phones now, why try to replace it. also
i can't believe there's someone else named shon, i thought i was the only one with that name
Peter Walsh @ Oct 4th 2006 1:32AM
Please check your facts, your article is totally wrong. Nokia wants to use Wibree for low power sensors that are powered by coin batteries and do not need recharging. Bluetooth will remain for other applications.
Not everyone is as confused as you
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/03/wibree_launch/
mic82 @ Oct 4th 2006 3:31AM
Replace bluetooth? Me no understand english? Check your facts! It's a networking standard for very low-power devices. Nobody says anything about replaceing bluetooth.
Lars @ Oct 4th 2006 1:33PM
I think it's "bash Nokia-day", like every other day here at engadget. Recognize the facts, 35% global market share! 6th most valuable brand name in the world!
WB @ Oct 4th 2006 10:35AM
While bluetooth is a finnicky standard at best the Nokia release hardly says that wibree will replace it. Hopefully the real replacement will actually work.