Bluetooth Everywhere

I have great news for those of you who are waiting for the next edition of “Bluetooth for Java”. Chapter 1 is done and complete. The funny this is that I completely gutted the whole chapter! It’s amazing how things change in a matter of a few years. Back in 2002 when I wrote the 1st edition of the book, I needed to write Chapter 1 to explain “what” Bluetooth is and “what” Bluetooth does.

Now, it’s 2009 and there over 1-billion Bluetooth-enabled devices on the planet. There is absolutely no need to try to introduce you to Bluetooth, since almost everyone has a general concept of what it is. So, I’m going to salvage what little I can from Chapter 1, and roll that information into Chapter 2. Now it’s time to tackle Chapter 2!

Ok, let me quote the Bluetooth SIG directly:

The Bluetooth SIG is pleased to announce that the Core Specification Working Group has published the Draft Bluetooth Core Specification Version 3.0 + High Speed (HS) for your review. The following feature enhancements encompass the major improvements incorporated into this Draft Bluetooth Core Specification:

• Generic Alternate MAC/PHY (AMP)
• 802.11 Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL)
• Generic Test Methodology
• Enhanced Power Control
• HCI Read Encryption Key Size
• Unicast Connectionless Data

This of course is awesome news! Now if all those features look like “mumbo-jumbo” to you, then stay tuned to this blog because I’ll explain why these features are important. You can expect the new specification to be finalized before July. When will Bluetooth 3.0 +HS devices hit the market? My guess is that you’ll see some devices that use the new spec by the end of year.

Ok,

So, if you’re a mobile developer like me, then you’ve heard of Java FX before. However, you may have the following questions in your mind, such as:

• What’s the difference between JavaFX and JavaFX Mobile?
• What is the syntax for JavaFX Mobile?
• What advantages are there for using Java FX Mobile?
• Will my target platform support JavaFX Mobile?
• Are there emulators available for JavaFX Mobile technology?

So, coming from the perspective of the mobile developer, I wrote the first article on JavaFX Mobile technology. Be sure to take a look at the article and drop a note (or rate the article) on the Sun website. Below is the basic architecture diagram for Java FX.

I’m the type of person who gets enthusiastic about people or companies who decide to be a leader, and not a follower. Some of these companies have an engineer in their corporate offices who makes far-reaching business decisions based upon technical-prowess (that means that they do something because it’s really cool to do) and because of financial sound-ness (that means that they can make some money from it, too). One of these companies in my opinion is Broadcom. Last month, at the 2009 CES show, Broadcom conducted a technology demonstration of the next-generation Bluetooth technology (2.2/3.0 - we don’t know the version number yet). They were able to achieve data rates up to 24 Mb/s, and they achieved this by running Bluetooth data over a WiFi transport! This capability is a part of the Bluetooth AMP technology. So, for 2009 here’s what you can expect the Bluetooth landscape to look like:

• Bluetooth Low Energy 1.0
  • data rate - 1 Mb/s
  • battery life - 1 year
• Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR
  • data rate - 3 Mb/s
  • battery life - days
• Bluetooth 2.2/3.0 (Bluetooth High Speed Technology)
  • Two flavors available:
    • 802.11 / Wifi transport (called 10x technology)
      • data rate - 24 Mb/s
      •  battery life - hours
    • Ultra Wide Band (UWB) transport (called 100x technology)
      • data rate - 200-400 Mb/s
      • battery life - ?

The newest versions of the specifications should be completed in mid-2009. So are you excited?