New Wi-Fi spec challenges Bluetooth

A new Wi-Fi specification will let wireless devices discover and connect to one another without a router.

The spec, called Wi-Fi Direct, was announced Wednesday by the Wi-Fi Alliance, the industry group that promotes the technology. By making it much easier for devices to connect directly to each other using Wi-Fi, the new spec could pose a challenge to wireless technologies such Bluetooth.

The way Wi-Fi Direct works is that it allows Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as phones, cameras, printers, computers, keyboards, and headphones to connect to other Wi-Fi devices individually or to multiple devices at once. The spec will support standard Wi-Fi data rates, and devices will be able to connect to one another within about 100 meters of each other. This would allow just about any device that has Wi-Fi built into it to use wireless broadband instead of Bluetooth. It could even eliminate the need for Wi-Fi routers in some places.

The new spec will turn gadgets into mini Wi-Fi access points, which means that it could reduce the need for home Wi-Fi routers. It could also hurt Bluetooth, which is widely used to provide similar peer-to-peer connections between devices. For example, Bluetooth technology connects headsets to music players and cell phones. And it's used to provide other high-speed wireless connections over short distances between other devices. The new Wi-Fi Direct specification would offer the same function.

Ad hoc wireless connections are already supported via the current Wi-Fi standard. But the Wi-Fi Direct specification would make it easier for devices to discover each other and connect. The Wi-Fi Alliance plans to publish the new peer-to-peer Wi-Fi specification soon and says it will begin certifying devices for Wi-Fi Direct in 2010.

[ddhboy]

It only took officials years to get to a place that many homebrewers have been in for years.

[hafenbrack]

It only took years for them to raify the .11n wi-fi standrad, bluetooth shouldn't worry, it has years...

[Michichael]

... So they're saying they discovered ad hoc. Wow. Amazing. Good job. I've spent months training my users to never use ad hoc connections at airports. : P

[jmonty--2008]

I would have been so happy if this had happened about five few years ago, when it seemed that no BT device really worked quite as well as it was supposed to.

[MadLyb]

Normally I hate fragmentation, but Bluetooth has failed to evolve to improve performance and capabilities and I guess it needs a strong competitor to move this space forward, especially in the arena of wireless audio.

[terminalblue]

wow. ad-hoc routing. how is this a new spec, i thought it was called Mesh.

Oh well, anything is better then bluetooth networking

[jchanski21]

I'm stupid when it comes to most wireless stuff, and this is news to me. Does this mean that a device like a ZuneHD, which has wi-fi but no bluetooth, could potentially use a wireless headset/mic in the (very distant, it sounds like) future?

[Kesteral]

NO, different hardware will be needed than what a current generation bluetooth or wi-fi device has.

[tech_crazy]

Possible that a firmware upgrade could get the feature into existing Zunes.

[XiroMisho]

if it's using a standard wifi like G or N... it would simply be up to the vendor to add in the software support... and in the case of the current world of electronics, when a simple software update will allow for more features on a device you already have........

no you're going need to wait for them to make a new device to support it because that would make more money. Welcome to America, land of disposable electronics.

[lightningrob]

And what about power consumption? Are wireless headsets going to have wifi chips in them? That was one of the main advantages of BT over wifi from the beginning.

[aubskibob]

Yea I want to know the answer to this question as well. Bluetooth does a number on batteries as it is.

[DesktopIntegration]

My only worry now is, will I see hundreds of devices. I already can often see too many resulting in scrolling etc., We need a good "browse" strategy to support the viewing of hundreds if not 1000's of devices!

[XiroMisho]

Routers will always be necessary because this standard isn't going to be able to route between networks and thus get online (unless you have a PC, that must always be online and have both a wireless and wired connection... in which case just get a router it's simpler and more energy efficient.)

Bluetooth however, is doomed... Bluetooth is pretty bad honestly, i mean... 1mbps? Serious... 1. 1mbps right next to the device? No wonder I can never use my headset unless the phone is at my hip, and even then it's not 100% reliable. If they were both wifi enabled with even 802.11G I could just walk across the room and chat while my phone charges.

[dinkeldorf]

Headline is sensationalist and speculative. Lets see how it plays out.

Signal strength & range is mostly inversely proportional to battery life. 100M range from a jawbone? Hmmm.

[savvyrpb]

How would security work with Wi-Fi Direct?

[Dave_Wright]

This is really cool... Not only will this benefit networks, but will also allow for more opertunities in the home for devices like remotes and media players. Being able to connect a media playback device directly instead of having to go through a network router will definately free up some bandwidth.

[Hey_Radar]

I think this is huge. It only makes sense. This would allow devices to reduce the number of radios it has to power. Today some devices has to power a wi-fi radio, a bluetooth radio, and a CDMA/GSM radio. Reducing a radio should save power and simplify the device.

It only makes sense that we consolidate the way devices connect to each other. Wi-Fi, USB, Wireless USB, Ethernet, Firewire, Bluetooth, etc. Its just way to insane. Have Wi-Fi and Ethernet, and thats it. And just keep enhancing their abilities.

[morton101]

wow that was quick, when did wifi come out?

But most importantly if they can do this and reduce power consumption...

[nicceg]

Well, since some time the new Bluetooth 3.0 standard can piggyback on top of Wifi. Currently Bluetooth allows for data rates 270 kbips(Bluetooth low energy, soon to be released), 1Mbips(BR, basic rate), 3 Mbips (EDR, enhanced data rate) and 11g, 24 Mbips. With 11n Bluetooth will scale much higher.
It remains to be seen how popular Bluetooth 3.0 becomes. For the moment there is not that many profiles that can use it. Regardless I would expect Bluetooth to win the low power game.

I think that this is only an attempt to try to strike back at the soon to be released Bluetooth Low Energy.
Coming from the watch industry we are implementing Bluetooth Low Energy in our watches. It's very small and it runs of a very small coin. I am having trouble to believe that 11g will do the same, the peaks are too high for e.g. a LiMg battery. Also the memory required by Wi-FI in general is really a decade too much.

Bluetooth has shipped 2.8 billion ship which makes it the marker leader by a big margin.

[nicceg]

I meant 3.8 billion

[sythara]

Amazing. I can see so many people out there now with mini pineapples with Jasager lite installed. Incredible.

[WelshMullet]

Is this what apple was preparing for when it put wi-fi chips in the new ipod?