Nokia Opens Up Bluetooth Competitor

Looking to take on Bluetooth, Nokia said Tuesday it was open-sourcing its "Wibree" wireless technology. According to the company, Wibree uses a fraction of the power of other radio solutions, and is easily integrated with Bluetooth.

Nokia says Wibree is the first open technology to allow connectivity between computers and cell phones and button-cell powered devices. This could include toys and watches, among other items. Similar technologies require too much energy to be used on low-power devices.

Wibree will offer Bluetooth-like performance at up to 10 meters (30 feet) at a speed of up to 1Mbps, and would operate in the 2.4GHz band. The first commercial version of the specification is expected in the spring of next year, with products based on the standard likely appearing over the summer.

"Our aim is to establish an industry standard faster than ever before by offering an interoperable solution that can be commercialized and incorporated into products quickly," Nokia Research Center head Dr. Bob Iannucci said in the announcement.

The Finnish phone maker said it would make the technology widely available for use, and announced several partners who are working on the specification alongside Nokia. Broadcom, CSR, Epson, Nordic Semiconductor, Suunto, and Taiyo Yuden have already provided assistance and have agreed to licensing terms.

Although Nokia plans to market Wibree as an add-on to currently existing Bluetooth chips, it plans to go after segments where Bluetooth is too power intensive for any reasonable application. However, its unclear if the industry is ready for another wireless standard.

Although Bluetooth has been around since the 1990s following its invention by Ericsson, it took the better part of a decade for the technology to take hold. Only within the past several years have consumers responded to the need for such technology.