Future versions of Bluetooth – Bluetooth 1.2 & Bluetooth 2.0

By admin

    The Bluetooth SIG has aimed from the start to ensure that developers and users do not concern themselves with updated version of the Bluetooth specification, but rather concern themselves on implementation of the existing Bluetooth 1.1 spec and the use/development of profiles. This is to ensure that developers do not wait for later spec versions and that confusion and  interoperability problems do not enter the marketplace. However, the recent release of cores based on preliminary Bluetooth 1.2 and speculation on the abilities of Bluetooth 2.0, means that far-sighted developers should not stand still in approaching Bluetooth optimisations. This article explains the features on a broad level of Bluetooth 1.2 and examines the reports on Bluetooth 2.0.

Note: Both of these specifications are still heavily under development, and as such detailed technical description will not be covered. Any features here should NOT be taken as definitive word on the specifications, contact the Bluetooth SIG for comprehensive details.

Status of Bluetooth 1.2
The Bluetooth SIG has recently (Dec 2002), released IP v0.7, a series of Improvement Proposals (IPs) to the Bluetooth spec. These IPs are treated as informative and not normative. This distinction is because the text will be adapted and incorporated via Change Requests (CRs) into different volumes, parts and sections of the BT 1.2 Core.

    In general, the 1.2 Core release is intended to be backward-compatible with version 1.1 of the Core Specification. This means that implementing new features, described in any IP, into a version 1.2 prototype or product should not cause interoperability problems with version 1.1 products that do not support the new features. With the release of these 0.7 versions of the IPs, the SIG "encourages the members to plan on taking advantage of some or all of these new core features in your future products". After the release of the draft BT1.2 specification early next year the SIG plans to hold prototype testing sessions. So far Ericsson have released 2 Bluetooth Baseband cores [6],[7], which implement various parts of Bluetooth 1.2 and as the Bluetooth 1.2 spec nears greater stability, more cores will be delivered by different manufacturers.

    Note: as an aside, one hopes that manufacturers who ‘jump the gun’ on Bluetooth 1.2 features, will not repeat the mistakes that were made by early implementations of the Bluetooth 1.0 spec that took much time & effort to correct, i.e. certain ’selective’ readings of the Bluetooth spec by some vendors which lead to interoperability problems.

Features of Bluetooth 1.2
There is little point in introducing a new version of an existing specification unless it serves to improve the pre-existing functionality. To this end, Bluetooth 1.2 makes several major improvements to Bluetooth 1.1. These require changes/additions to several sections of the spec and can be summarized as follows:

Adaptive Frequency Hopping
Faster Connection Time
Improved Quality of Service (QoS)
Extended SCO
Scatter Mode 
Other Enhancements
Note: Some reported features of Bluetooth 1.2, such as that it would have an increased data rate of 2-3 Mbits per second to allow greater multimedia support [9], up from the current rate of nearly 1 Mbits per second, are incorrect. Increased data throughput seems to be the preserve of Bluetooth 2.0 (see later). Bluetooth 1.2’s data rate remains the same as Bluetooth 1.1, i.e. a maximum of 1 Mbits per second.

Can batteries be ‘Green’?

By admin

    The whole of the battery industry is a con – it is all based on consumerism – even alkaline Duracell & Energizer are both slightly rechargeable, but the manufacturers don’t want Jo Public re-using things, they just want people to buy more!  Domestic Nickel Cadmium rechargeable batteries (Ni-cads) & now even most ‘C & D’ size Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries (NiMH) are designed to under-perform.  Battery rechargers are often designed to over charge batteries & ‘cook’ them!

       More & more batteries are being used in our everyday lives.  Most of this use is totally unnecessary, for example in smoke alarms – they should run primarily off mains electricity, with a built in capacitor / rechargable battery backup.  Why have so many electronic toys for children? There are some amazing wooden ones around, without all of the toxic plastics & batteries in most of the electronic ones.

       Why is it that there are 5 types of ‘D’ size rechargeable batteries available to industry & only 2, very inefficient ones available on the high street?  If this is not a conspiracy by the battery companies to fuel consumerism, then what is?

       What we do is on a not-for-profit basis.  We totally believe that the future of batteries is rechargable over disposable.  And there are massive problems with Nickel Cadmium. Isabel Hilton wrote in ‘Made in China’, an essay featured in Granta magazine, that:
“There are some sights in China that I shall always remember: the young women from a battery factory, poisoned by Cadmium, who pushed forward their thin haired, yellow faced little children for me to look at ( they had passed on the contamination, unwittingly, to the next generation ).”  ( Issue 89 of Granta  ISBN 090314175-2 )

       We have done a lot of research on what types of batteries are available (especially for torches, CB’s, cycle lights, smoke alarms & mobile phones) and have found that, if people must use batteries, then rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) have the best environmental record of all small batteries on the market.  They :

• Have no Cadmium (a very toxic metal).
• Have no memory effect & therefore can be topped up.
• Live longer than Ni-Cads, but do self-discharge slightly quicker.
• Are cheaper to recycle than Ni-Cads.
• Last up to 380% longer per charge, compared with Ni-Cads (depending on size).
• Have a superior temperature range compared to Ni-Cads.
• Do not need discharging, before charging.
• Work in high demand appliances such as photographic cameras & personal organisers.

       The AA and AAA sizes are very efficient, having 80% and 70% respectively of the life of the Duracell equivalents.  They actually last longer than some standard non-rechargeables!

       NiMH are also excellent for using in solar powered battery chargers.  Ni-Cads suffer from a memory effect – when charging, you have to ensure that they are totally flat first, otherwise they ‘remember’ how much charge they used to have and die much quicker.  Some solar chargers magnify this effect, because the sun disappears now & again and this can cause lots of ‘memory’ problems.  NiMH have a negligible memory effect – therefore you do not have to flatten them before re-charging, making charging quicker & more convenient.  The batteries also live longer.  They are branded BST, Vanson & Varta, and are available in the following types: