Simpler Bluetooth Due in Late 2007

The Bluetooth SIG told InfoWorld’s Ephraim Schwartz that the 2.1 update to the standard that would appear later this year would automate parts of the pairing process to reduce hooking up two devices down to perhaps 2 to 3 steps.

In writing about Bluetooth, I’ve always been stunned by how many steps are necessary to create a connection, even in ideal circumstances. The Wi-Fi Alliance learned from this, and their Wi-Fi Protected Setup—a kind of pairing for simple WPA security—involves as few as two steps on a base station and one on a computer trying to associate to form an encrypted pairing.

The new 2.1+EDR spec also uses as little as 20 percent as much power through better sleep modes. Schwartz writes the spec should ship to device manufacturers in two months, but I wonder if he means that chipmakers will have implemented versions that can be integrated in devices in two months?

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