Bluetooth 5’s faster, longer-ranged wireless is here

Bluetooth is about to become a lot less hassle-prone. The wireless standard's Special Interest Group has officially adopted the Bluetooth 5 spec, clearing the way for device makers to use the much-improved technology in everything from phones to wea...

Alliance for Wireless Power and Bluetooth SIG team on smarter charging stations

Nokia Lumia 920 on a Fatboy charging pillow

Wireless charging stations aren't currently very bright, but they're about to learn some new tricks. The Alliance for Wireless Power and the Bluetooth SIG are collaborating on an updated A4WP specification that uses Bluetooth Smart to manage wireless charging sessions. Future Bluetooth-equipped stations should optimize power delivery, prioritize charging for multiple devices and launch apps; you could order a meal by setting your phone down at a restaurant table, for instance. Just when we'll see these smart stations isn't certain, though. When the first A4WP-ready products aren't likely to reach the market until next year, it could be a long time before wireless chargers become truly multi-talented.

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Source: Bluetooth SIG

HTC One drops by Bluetooth SIG with Android 4.3

HTC One drops by Bluetooth SIG with Android 4.3

Android 4.3 keeps popping up left, right and center and it's most recently been spotted running on an HTC One in the Bluetooth SIG. It's no secret that the new version of Jelly Bean will finally support Bluetooth 4.0 out of the box and enable Android phones and tablets to connect with a whole new category of devices like the Kevo lock we played with at CTIA. The handset is named "PN071xx_Android 4.3_G" in the July 5th listing -- which matches the HTC One's model number (with "G" likely denoting the Google Play edition) -- and shows compatibility with Bluetooth 4.0 LE. With this much evidence building up, we're pretty sure the official launch of Android 4.3 is just around the corner. Are you ready for it?

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Via: PhoneArena

Source: Bluetooth SIG

ASUS K009 tablet reaches Bluetooth SIG with Snapdragon 600 mention, tiny photo

ASUS K009 tablet reaches Bluetooth SIG with Snapdragon 600, world's tiniest photo

Well, isn't this odd? ASUS' mystery K009 tablet surfaced at the FCC with hints of a Snapdragon S4 Pro inside, but the 7-inch slate just received a Bluetooth SIG certification with marketing copy that suggests there's a Snapdragon 600 instead. We don't know whether this hints at a quiet upgrade, a variant or merely some confusion, although we're keeping our fingers crossed for a speedup. The filing may have also shown the K009's appearance, if barely -- a miniscule photo points to styling like that of the Nexus 7 or the MeMo Pad series. While the tablet isn't any closer to release without evidence of a ship date, it's less likely to catch us off-guard.

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Via: Android Central

Source: Bluetooth SIG

Android to get built-in Bluetooth Smart Ready support this year

Android to get builtin Bluetooth Smart Ready support this year

As powerful as Android can be, Bluetooth is one of its glaring weaknesses: the absence of a default Bluetooth framework has led to inconsistent implementations from both device builders and app developers. Google is at last covering that gaping hole, however. As hinted earlier today, it's incorporating Bluetooth Smart Ready support (that is, Bluetooth 4.0 on a dual-mode chip) in an upcoming version of Android. Having a common platform should allow for more reliable behavior, not to mention fewer roadblocks to using low power Bluetooth Smart (single-mode Bluetooth 4.0) devices like the Fitbit Flex. There's only one catch that we can see, so far: when Google hasn't said how soon we'll get that Android upgrade, wireless peripheral lovers will have to remain patient.

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Source: Bluetooth Blog

Samsung’s rumored dust and waterproof Galaxy S 4 Active shows up in Bluetooth certification

Samsung's rumored dust and waterproof Galaxy S 4 Active shows up in Bluetooth certification

Samsung's Galaxy S 4 Active -- a dust and waterproof version of the company's flagship -- is currently just a rumor, but documentation has started popping up online to lend some corroboration. A handset going by the handle GT-I9295, which SamMobile has linked to the S 4 Active, has shown up in a Bluetooth SIG filing. Furthermore, a user agent profile for the same model lists the display resolution as 1080p, matching that of the standard GS4. With all these small clues pointing in the same direction, the existence of an S 4 for outdoorsy types is starting to look more like a dead cert.

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Via: TechTastic, Mobileaks

Source: Bluetooth Special Interest Group