bluetooth 4.0

Maybe you're less forgetful than I am, but I'm pretty sure that most of people have, at some point or other, realized all too late that they've left their wallet at home or in the car. (If you're like me, this happens at least weekly.) With the help of your smartphone and an app, Phone Halo's new Wallet Trackr can let you know that you've misplaced your billfold, clutch, or purse before you get too far away from it.

If you've read our review of the Cobra Tag (which is also powered by … Read more

One of the more interesting things that Suke Jawanda, chief marketing officer of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), ever saw enabled with Bluetooth was a toothbrush. It measures how long you brush and the number of strokes you make.

"It's all these telematics from your toothbrush that are tracked and sent to an app," he said. "And it's like...what can't be connected?"

For Jawanda and everyday consumers, it seems like everything these days features the Bluetooth logo on its box. In fact, in 2011, 50 Bluetooth-enabled products are shipped out every … Read more

Bluetooth, once trumpeted as the ultimate convenience, quickly proved a headache with plenty of pairing problems and inexplicable connection snafus. Bluetooth 4.0, the newest version of the technology, is about to change all that. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--As helpful as the original Cobra Tag was for a forgetful guy like me, it had one fatal flaw: I kept forgetting to recharge the darn thing!

The new Cobra Tag G5, set to be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, now only needs charging twice per year. Cobra is claiming more than six months of monitoring between recharges of the new Tag G5 thanks to its implementation of Bluetooth 4.0 technology. However, in order to achieve this astronomic battery life, the phone the Tag G5 is paired with will also need to support Bluetooth … Read more

One of the lesser-known facts to emerge about the iPhone 4S yesterday is that it is the first phone to launch with Bluetooth 4.0, the latest version of Bluetooth. Not many products are available with Bluetooth 4.0 just yet--in fact, two of the most recent products to ship with Bluetooth 4.0 are also from Apple: the MacBook Air and the Mac Mini. Bluetooth 4.0 is backward-compatible with all other versions of Bluetooth, so you can pair existing Bluetooth headsets with the new iPhone without a problem.

So what's so special about it? According to Mike Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group), the key new feature of Bluetooth 4.0 is its low-energy technology. This lets device manufacturers replace proprietary sensor technology with Bluetooth, which is a more widely adopted standard. An obvious example is in the health and fitness category. Most pedometers, heart rate straps, and blood glucose monitors are designed to only talk to a specific wristwatch or control unit. If these same devices had Bluetooth 4.0, they could speak to any Bluetooth 4.0 device, be it phone or computer, without requiring an intermediary.

"It's an extremely optimized version of Bluetooth," Foley said. "It enables an entirely new class of product into the Bluetooth world." … Read more

At today's Apple event, a new iPhone was announced. Surprise, surprise: the iPhone 4S is a modest upgrade, at least in terms of design. However, it shares a benefit with its larger iPad 2 cousin: significantly improved graphics.

It's no longer a secret or even an aspiration: the iPhone and iPod Touch are now the most popular gaming handhelds on the planet. The Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita are, at best, hopefuls trying to steal away Apple's newfound crown. So, how does Apple's latest iPhone hold up the mantle as the reigning gaming handheld du jour?

In short: by continuing to do what it does best.… Read more

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has completed its promising specification for Bluetooth 4.0, though we'll have to wait until the end of the year to buy devices that use the new technology.

Announcing the completion of Bluetooth 4.0 at its all-hands meeting in Seattle on Tuesday, the Bluetooth SIG is touting the spec for its ability to work with low-energy devices, such as watches and health sensors. But Bluetooth 4.0 will also provide higher speeds for peripherals to communicate with mobile phones, computers, and other gadgets.

First unveiled last December, Bluetooth 4.0 actually offers … Read more