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A repeat of the success story of Bluetooth, with a recognisable brand name and interoperability, is the aim for the Wibree ultra low power, short range, wireless technology by 2008.
“Our target is to make this [Wibree] a de facto standard in one way or another,†said Harri Tulimaa, head of technology outlicensing at Nokia, which originally announced Wibree in October. “The fact is there is no technology addressing the needs we wanted to approach – ultra low power for mobile devices.â€
Wibree is being aimed at allowing mobile phones to communicate with devices operating from a button cell battery. “The main point for small devices is it has to be significantly lower power than existing technology,†said Tulimaa.
According to Nordic Semiconductor, which is involved in defining the Wibree specification, the technology to do this is already in existence but until now it has been proprietary technology.
“Wibree is not a dream technology, there are others [proprietary] out there that can do what Wibree will do already,†said Thomas Bonnerud, product manager of standard components, Nordic. “The one thing missing here is interoperability.â€
Wibree will be more expensive than proprietary systems but it is anticipated that interoperability and a brand name will counteract this. “If you strip out everything to just what is needed it’s probably better, but will a brand name and interoperability make up for a small price increase? – we’ll see,†said Bonnerud.
Wibree will be available in two versions – standalone and dual mode. In dual mode it will be added to a Bluetooth chip where it can use the same radio and antenna. Nokia expects it to add €1 to a standalone product and 10cents when added to a Bluetooth chip.
Source: Electronics Weekly
I wonder if this will happen, frankly I’m up for anything that will reduce cable clutter. On a totally unrelated note, if the next generation Nokia N series phones lack wireless usb then someone in the design lab needs to explain themselves.
Here is the wikipedia entry for Wibree
About The Author
Stefan Constantinescu
Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.
