Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0

Bluetooth, is a support device short-distance communication (10m in general) radio technology, after recent years of development, we are no longer unfamiliar with it, it is also the current digital products indispensable modules. The advent of Bluetooth technology allows us to connect a variety of devices without being constrained by a variety of data lines, such as stereos, computers, mice, keyboards, and even cars. This technology is the simplest and easiest way to make wireless short-distance communication between two devices and simplifies communication between the device and the Internet, making data transfer more efficient and faster.

Recently, Bluetooth Technology Alliance (bluetooth® SIG) announced the Bluetooth 4.2 core technology standards, it is reported that the new technology can enhance privacy protection, speed up data transmission speed, so that the device through Bluetooth access to the Internet. From the birth of this technology to today, has undergone a lot of updates, let us review the history of Bluetooth technology.

Bluetooth 4.2, has been updated in 8 versions, 1.1, 1.2, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, respectively.

Bluetooth 1.1 Standard

1.1 is the earliest version, the transmission rate is about 748~810kb/s, because it is early design, susceptible to the same frequency of product interference under the influence of communication quality.

Bluetooth 1.2 Standard

1.2 is also only the 748~810kb/s transmission rate, but in addition (improved software) anti-jamming frequency hopping function.

Bluetooth 2.0 Standard

2.0 is a 1.2 improved version, the transmission rate of about 1.8m/s~2.1m/s, began to support duplex mode-that is, one side for voice communication, but also can transfer files/high-quality images, 2.0 of course also support Stereo operation.

The most widely used is the Bluetooth 2.0+EDR standard, which was introduced in 2004, and the products that support the Bluetooth 2.0+edr standard also appeared in 2006.

Although the Bluetooth 2.0+EDR standard has been extensively improved in technology, it is from 1. The problem of the complexity of the configuration process and the large power consumption of the device continue to exist.

Bluetooth 2.1 Standard

August 2, 2007, the Bluetooth Technology Alliance formally approved the Bluetooth 2.1 version of the specification, "Bluetooth 2.1+edr", can be used for future devices free of use. and 2.0 version of the same generation of products, still occupy a large share of the Bluetooth market, the relative 2.0 version is mainly to improve the standby time of more than twice times, technical standards have not fundamentally changed.

Bluetooth 3.0 Standard

April 21, 2009, Bluetooth Technology Alliance (bluetooth® SIG) formally promulgated a new generation of standard specification "Bluetooth core Specification version 3.0 High speed" (Bluetooth kernel Specification version 3.0), the core of Bluetooth 3.0 The heart is the "Generic Alternate mac/phy" (AMP), a new alternate RF technology that allows the Bluetooth protocol stack to dynamically select the correct RF for any task.

The data transfer rate of Bluetooth 3.0 is increased to approximately 24Mbps (you can call 802.11 wi-Fi for high-speed data transfer when needed). On the transfer speed, Bluetooth 3.0 is eight times times the Bluetooth 2.0, it can be easily used for video recorder to HDTV, PC to PMP, UMPC to the data transfer between the printer, but need both sides to achieve this standard to realize the function.

Bluetooth 4.0 Standard

The Bluetooth 4.0 specification was officially released on July 7, 2010, with the new version having the greatest significance of low power consumption, enhanced device compatibility between different OEMs, and reduced latency, with a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 24Mbps (i.e. 3mb/s) and an effective coverage range of 100 meters ( The previous version is 10 meters). The standard chip is used by a large number of mobile phones, tablets, such as Apple's New ipad tablet, and Apple iphone 5, Meizu MX4, HTC one x and other mobile phones with Bluetooth 4.0 features.

Bluetooth 4.1 Standard

Bluetooth 4.1 was released on December 6, 2013, and if the data is transmitted between the LTE radio signal, then Bluetooth 4.1 can automatically coordinate the transmission of the information between the two, in theory can reduce the other signal to Bluetooth 4.1 interference. The improvement is to increase the connection speed and more intelligent, such as reducing the time to reconnect between devices, meaning that if the user out of the Bluetooth 4.1 signal range and disconnected time is not very long, when the user returned to the signal range again after the device will automatically connect, the reaction time is shorter than Bluetooth 4.0. The last improvement is to improve the transmission efficiency, if the user connected to a very high number of devices, such as a number of wearable devices, the information between each other can be immediately sent to the receiving device.

In addition, Bluetooth 4.1 adds more flexibility to the developer, which has no significant impact on the average user, but is important for software developers because Bluetooth must be able to support multiple devices at the same time in order to cope with the emerging wearable devices.

There are fewer handsets to support the standard, and Samsung Galaxy Note4 is one of the most iconic.

Bluetooth 4.2 Standard

December 4, 2014, the latest Bluetooth 4.2 standard promulgated, improved data transmission speed and privacy protection, and access to the device will be able to access the Internet directly through IPV6 and 6LoWPAN. Under the new standard Bluetooth signals that want to connect or track user devices must be licensed by the user, otherwise the Bluetooth signal will not be able to connect and track the user device.

Speed has become faster, and data transfer between two Bluetooth devices has increased by 2.5 times times because the capacity of Bluetooth Smart (bluetooth® Smart) packets is increased, which can hold up to about 10 times times the amount of data previously available.

Bluetooth version is naturally more advanced the better, considering the transmission distance and power consumption issues, the latest Bluetooth 4.1 is preferred, but the current market on the Bluetooth 4.1 products are not many, and the mainstream Bluetooth 4.0 products cost-effective, as for Bluetooth 3.0, 2.1 and below the version has lost the value of purchase.

conclusion: Bluetooth has many advantages, such as perfect encryption measure, stable transmission process and rich compatible equipment. From version 1.1 to version 4.2, there is a tough process, Bluetooth bluetooth® 2.1+EDR Standard and 4.0 standard are the most common to us, but also the most widely used. Bluetooth technology is closely related to our life, work, driving, entertainment, multimedia, through the use of Bluetooth technology products, people can eliminate the distress of Home Office cable Winding, by connecting the phone to the speaker to hold hands-free conference calls, through the wireless stereo headset to hear from home audio or other similar audio equipment streaming music.

Every generation of Bluetooth standard upgrade, believe in tablet phones and other electronic products are full of appeal. Products with a higher version of the Bluetooth standard will improve overall performance, such as a wider range of mating ranges, higher transmission speeds, more energy savings, direct access to the Internet, and more. In addition, I believe that the future of Bluetooth applications will be more extensive, more fit users. However, the release of the Bluetooth 4.2 standard is still a minor version of the update, and did not bring a inflection point, or a change. If there is still no reform, it is likely to be replaced by NFC, which is gaining momentum.

Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0