Bluetooth 2.1 Offers Touch Based Pairing, Reduced Power Consumption

While the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is not planning to formally announce its new Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR spec until March 27th, we got the chance to talk a few SIG representatives for a while about the new specification and the advantages it will offer in terms of usability, power consumption, and security.

Easier To Use

From the consumer's viewpoint, the biggest improvements that Bluetooth 2.1 will offer are in the realm of usability. The pairing process between two 2.1 (or later) devices is going to be alot simpler than what we are used to dealing with. For example, pairing a new headset with your phone will require the following steps:

1. Turn on the headset
2. Select "add headset" (or similar) from your phone
3. Wait for the phone to confirm that the pairing is complete

That's it. Gone are the days of "searching for devices". The search takes place in the background now, and is accomplished in less time than with prior versions of Bluetooth. Better yet: in most cases there will be no need for the user to enter a PIN code. PIN codes (now called passkeys by the Bluetooth SIG) will only be required when the device manufacturers specifically require them. But this doesn't mean that the pairing process is less secure on 2.1 devices. On the contrary, the devices now auto-generate more secure 16 digit alphanumeric PIN codes automatically that they pass from one device to another through the use of a public key mathematical system called Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (EDCH). ECDH can be used to securely pass a shared numeric key over an insecure connection so that both devices can use that key to create secured connections in the future.

But now that the Bluetooth SIG is teaming up with the NFC Forum, things can get even better. NFC stands for Near Field Communications, which is a short range wireless RFID technology that makes use of interacting electromagnetic radio fields instead of the typical direct radio transmissions used by technologies such as Bluetooth. When two Bluetooth 2.1 devices are both equipped with NFC, the only thing required for pairing is holding one device within 2 to 3 inches of the other. NFC handles the initiation of the pairing process so that the user doesn't even have to find the appropriate menu on their phone. Where this system really shines is when it is used in a more context sensitive fashion. For example, consider a user that has just snapped a photo with their NFC/Bluetooth capable cameraphone. In order to upload that photo to a NFC/Bluetooth capable picture frame or photo printer, all that is required is that they hold their phone next to the frame or printer. The phone detects what type of device the user is contacting, and the photo upload process can start automatically. Moments later the frame is displaying the photo, or the printer is making a hard copy. It really doesn't get much easier or more intuitive than this.

There is an added cost in adding NFC to a device, however, both in terms of real money and the size and weight of the components. As such, NFC will probably not be commonly found in devices like headsets for some time, though we might see passive NFC stickers on headset manuals that help automate the pairing process. NFC in phones, printers, and photo frames, however, are going to be something that we'll see sooner rather than later. Nokia, for example, has already announced its 6131 NFC compatible handset.

Less Power

Glossary:
Bluetooth
Bluetooth SIG
EDR
NFC
NFC ForumWhen it comes to power consumption, the improvements that Bluetooth 2.1 offers are also impressive. When used with devices that have a lot of inactive time in their connections, such as a mouse or keyboard, Bluetooth 2.1 will offer battery life improvements of up to 500%. This is accomplished through what the Bluetooth SIG is calling Sniff Subrating. Simply put, Bluetooth 2.1 devices can now adaptively decide between themselves how long they will wait before they send their next "I'm still here" messages to each other. Whereas in the past such devices might have exchanged status messages every tenth of a second (an arbitrary number I'm using for the purpose of this example), they might be able to wait perhaps a half second between doing so with Bluetooth 2.1 when they realize that they have been idle for some period of time. This can make a massive impact on battery life since many devices, such as headsets and Human Interface Devices (keyboards, mice, etc) spend much of their time simply waiting for the user to do something.

The Bluetooth SIG says that the biggest power improvements will be seen in mice, keyboards, and similar HID devices, but that headsets should still see an appreciable increase in standby performance - even if it isn't the up to 500% increase that we will see with a keyboard or mouse. It's also good to know that this decreased power drain won't result in a decreased range for the devices, so you will still be able to use that keyboard from across the room. You'll just be able to use for a longer period of time with Bluetooth 2.1.

According to the folks from the Bluetooth SIG, we should be seeing v2.1 + EDR compatible devices shipping in time for the Holiday shopping season in Q4 of this year.

 

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