Bluetooth Stagnation?

Any idea what is happening with Bluetooth out there these days? The Bluetooth SIG keeps including ever more features in the Bluetooth specification, now at version 4.0 with Ultra Low Power enhancements. However, there are few if any products on the market these days that even only implement the security enhancements introduced back in 2007 with version 2.1 of the specification!?

Nokia and Samsung seem to include Bluetooth 3.0 in the feature set of their latest phones but they don't go into the details of what that actually measns!? Is it the Wi-Fi transport layer for fast Bluetooth transmissions that was introduced with version 3.0 or just some minor improvements over the 2.1 standard? Bluetooth is used a lot today for wireless headphones, wireless keyboards, etc. but I don't see it in new applications, at least not when it comes to mass market adoption. So I wonder if the technology has reached a plateau from which it is going to be difficult to escape? As always, your thoughts are welcome.

Comments

[Stefan Constantinescu]

there's always a lag time of 1 to 2 years from standard ratification to mass deployment of any new standard requiring a different set of chips.

if none of the devices announced at the 2011 MWC have BT 4.0 then i'd be worried.

for now though it's just a waiting game.

[mobilesociety]

Hi Stefan,

yes, maybe I am too impatient :-)

Cheers,
Martin