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May 2009Issue 134

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INCISOR

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THIS ISSUE BLUETOOTH 3.0 LAUNCH + AHM REVIEW

CSR – THE RIGHT SOFTWARE AND SILICON FOR 3.0

MANAGING INTEROPERABILITY OF BLUETOOTH MEDICAL DEVICES

INCISOR WPANEL REVIEW: HOW MAY RADIOS CAN THE HANDSET TAKE?

BLUETOOTH 3.0 – BIG IN JAPAN?

www.incisor.tv

is 3.0 the big news?The big story this month is, notionally, that the Bluetooth 3.0 + High Speed spec has been ratified.

For the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, this was the big announcement for 2009, and it was delivered with due pompand ceremony at the SIG’s annual member event, which took place in Tokyo, Japan during the latter half of April.

And there is no question that Bluetooth 3.0 is significant. However, there are undercurrents at the moment that wouldlead us to believe that Bluetooth 3.0 may not be quite as exciting as it could be. Some say that the Bluetooth/Wi-Ficombo delivers barely enough speed for today’s applications, let alone those to come. The answer to that one would bethat this is meant to be in interim stage, and that further down the line, Ultra-wideband (UWB) will step in and help createBluetooth 3.0 + Really Honestly Very High Speed. But will that happen?

Those companies that are still developing UWB with this idea in mind need to be made of tough stuff and to be verydetermined. Wi-Fi is becoming entrenched, and the UWB companies are faced with a task that can be compared toremoving your teenage kid’s bubble gum from your new wool carpet (that simile is probably more palatable than thewaste material on a bedcover analogy).

Plus .... The lack of public fanfare for Bluetooth High Speed is countered by a new interest in low energy wirelesstechnology. This is the buzz at the moment, with developers and market researchers alike predicting that low energy is, infact, the next big thing. Bluetooth plays in this ballpark, and so do a lot of others. Time was allocated to Bluetooth lowenergy at the AHM, and perhaps this was the real ‘big story’? Read more in Nick Hunn’s AHM report in this issue.

Vince HoltonPublisher & editor-in-chief, Incisor / IncisorTV

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Contributing writers: Rebecca Russell, Manek Dubash, Dean Anthony GrattonPaul Rasmussen, Mads Oelholm.

Views expressed within are those of the Incisoreditorial and management representatives, andof the representatives of sponsor companies.Incisor is distributed on a monthly basisto companies and individuals with an interest inshort range wireless technology.Subscribe to Incisor free of charge at:http://www.incisor.tv/subscribe.phpShould you wish to stop receiving Incisor,please send a message titled 'UNSUBSCRIBE' to:mailto:incisor@incisor.tv

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CONTENTS

BLUETOOTH 3.0 LAUNCH+ AHM REVIEWCouldn’t make it to Tokyo? Here is thelow-down

CSR – THE RIGHTSOFTWARE AND SILICONFOR 3.0 CSR enables file transfers in a tenthof the time of classic Bluetooth

MANAGINGINTEROPERABILITY OFBLUETOOTH MEDICALDEVICESPeter Hauser explains why ISO 9001compliance is NOT enough

INCISOR WPANELREVIEW: HOW MAYRADIOS CAN THEHANDSET TAKE?Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, FM, ZigBee orwhat? How many radios is too many?

www.incisor.tv2

Incisor examines Bluetooth lowenergy wireless technology

INCISORTV FOCUS THIS MONTH:

newswww.incisor.tv3

Say konnichiha toBluetooth 3.0 As the world knows by now, the BluetoothSIG announced that it had formally adoptedthe Bluetooth Core Specification Version 3.0+ High Speed (HS) , or Bluetooth 3.0 at itsAll Hands meeting (AHM) in Tokyo duringApril. Incisor’s AHM report, and analysis ofthe 3.0 announcement is provided byWifore’s Nick Hunn, and can be found onpage 8.

Bluetooth 3.0 gets its speed from the 802.11radio protocol. The inclusion of the 802.11Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL) providesincreased throughput of data transfers at theapproximate rate of 24 Mbps. In addition,mobile devices including Bluetooth 3.0 willrealize increased power savings due toenhanced power control built in.

”Utilizing the 802.11 radio was a naturalchoice as it provides efficiencies for bothour members and consumers – membersget more function out of the two radios theyare already including in devices, andconsumers with Bluetooth 3.0 + HSproducts will get faster exchange ofinformation without changing how theyconnect. We are excited to expand thepossibilities of the PAN,” said Mike Foley, ofthe Bluetooth SIG.

This newest version of Bluetoothtechnology builds on the 2.1 + EDR version,including Simple Secure Pairing and built-in, automatic security. And as with allversions of the Bluetooth specification,Bluetooth 3.0 + HS is backwardscompatible with earlier versions.

The new specification release includesseveral major enhancements:

• Generic Alternate MAC/PHY (AMP)• 802.11 Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL)• Generic Test Methodology • Enhanced Power Control• Unicast Connectionless Data

Prior to the AHM, various wireless chipmanufacturers had obviously been movingheaven and earth to be in a position toannounce 3.0 silicon solutions, andAtheros, Broadcom and CSR all steppedup to the mark, with qualified solitions.Quite who got past the line first is updebate (see ‘Broadcom claims first 3.0’story).

End products for consumers based onBluetooth 3.0 silicon are expected to be inthe market in 9 to 12 months.

I’m not bitter!Not every industry observer was 100%impressed with the Bluetooth 3.0announcement. Alereon CEO EricBroockman commented: “We all know theold expression “and the third time is thecharm”. It was true for Windows –Windows 3.1 revolutionized desktopcomputing. For Wi-Fi, 802.11G was thethird version for this wireless standard afterthe original 1Mbps and 11Mbps versions.With raw data rates of 54Mbps andthroughput of 20Mbps, “G” became a bigsuccess. The third time was the charm forLANs as well. The first gen was 2Mbps,followed by 10Mbps but the marketexploded when we reached 10/100Ethernet – once again the third time wasthe charm. With the recent introduction ofBT 3.0 however, the Bluetooth SIG seemsto have missed the boat and broken theadage…

Let’s look at the particulars. BasicBluetooth 1.1, at about 1Mbps, has beenvery successful in transforming thecellphone experience with the hands freeconvenience of a Bluetooth wireless earbud or headset. Bluetooth 2.0, at a mere3Mbps, frankly hasn’t brought much moreto the party other than adding stereo. WithHigh Speed rumours swirling, expectationsfor Bluetooth 3.0 have been justifiablypretty high. And what did we get? It seems

we got an ease of use extension for Wi-Fimarketed by the Bluetooth SIG under theirmoniker.

Essentially, what BT 3.0 does is providethe users a 12Mbps data pipe [NOTE: theBT-SIG claims 22 to 26Mbps, howeverthat is only if the BT radio is not in use, ifyou are using your headset that drops toaround 12Mbps. In addition, if there areother 802.11 networks in operation on thesame channel nearby, throughput could beeven less] that can be more easily set upif both sides of the connection have (1) aBluetooth radio (2) a Wi-Fi radio and (3)new BT 3.0 gear shifting control software.At a high level, the way it works is thattwo BT 3.0 products connect overstandard BT 1.1. If each side advertisesthat it has a Wi-Fi radio AND is capable ofBT 3.0 gear shifting, then should the twoproducts choose to transfer files whicharen’t suitable for 3Mbps, they can “up-shift” to 3rd gear to 12Mbps over Wi-Fi.And when do we get this grand newincrease in speed? Probably 9 to 18months from now! Yawn.”

Now, bear in mind that Broockman is CEOof an Ultra-wideband (UWB) company,and that UWB is the technology that hasmost missed out by not being part of theBluetooth 3.0 announcement. UWBshould have been the primary high speeddata pipe for Bluetooth 3.0, butcircumstances have dictated that this wasnot to be, and Wi-Fi has been able toleap-frog and displace UWB. Knowingthis, Broockman’s tone is a little easier tounderstand.

Can Alereon and the other UWBcompanies recover the lost ground andwin back support, especially in theBluetooth camp? The next few months will tell.

newswww.incisor.tv4

CSR's Synergy one ofthe world's firstBluetooth v3.0-ratifiedproductsAlongside the Bluetooth SIG’s formalratification of the Bluetooth 3.0 spec, CSRannounced that its Synergy wireless systemssoftware is one of the world's first productsqualified to the v3.0 standard. Synergy is partof CSR's Connectivity Centre products,including the CSR9000, which featuresBluetooth and Wi-Fi alongside several othertechnologies.

Bluetooth v3.0 features 802.11 a/b/g AMP(Alternative MAC and PHY). AMP is featuredin CSR's Synergy and CSR9000, and allowsBluetooth to conduct high-speed, power-efficient file transfer in co-operation with IEEE802.11. When a Bluetooth device needs totransfer a large file, CSR's Synergy AMP hasthe ability to wake up the IEEE 802.11 radioto transfer files.

Bluetooth v3.0 also features support forEnhanced Power Control, which optimisesthe transmit power used in a connection evenwhen a phone and a headset are suddenlymoved apart from each other, or the phone isplaced into a pocket. This not only lengthensbattery life, but ensures that calls aren’t lost.

As long term Incisor readers will havenoticed, CSR has always managed to havequalified product ready at the point when theBluetooth SIG makes its announcements.This was recognised by the SIG’s Mike Foley,who commented: "CSR has always workedvery closely with us in establishing the futureof Bluetooth standards. CSR continues tostay abreast of the latest developments inBluetooth, and has constantly demonstratedan ability to develop this versatile and usefultechnology in interesting new directions.Synergy is a highly innovative piece ofsystems software and we're delighted to beable to qualify it as one of the first Bluetoothv3.0 products."

"Bluetooth v3.0 marks the next stage in theevolution of Bluetooth," explained MatthewPhillips, Senior Vice President for CSR'sHandset Business Unit. "By combining thelow power standby and familiar userexperience of Bluetooth with the fast data-rates of IEEE 802.11, users can enjoy theability to easily share files in a tenth of thetime it currently takes. With music, pictureand video files all increasing in size, there isstrong demand for a high speed wirelesssolution for peer-to-peer and sideloadinguse-cases. We've been demonstrating ourBluetooth high speed technology behindclosed doors to our tier one customers fornearly a year and the response has beengood. There is definitely an appetite for thistype of solution."

Phillips’ colleague, Raj Gawera, VicePresident of Marketing for CSR's HandsetBusiness Unit, added, "Optimising Bluetoothprotocol layers to operate at vastly increasedspeeds requires strong host software;something CSR has wrapped up with itsinnovative Synergy architecture. Anotherchallenge is to ensure that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi do not interfere with each other. CSR isalready recognised by its customers as theleader in advanced Bluetooth + Wi-Ficoexistence schemes. We know these areasare where our competitors struggle. CSRexpects to have the highest performanceimplementation of Bluetooth high speed."

CSR's Synergy features in several of CSR'srecently launched products, includingCSR9000, which offers Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,Bluetooth low energy, GPS and FM Rx/Tx.

Broadcom claims first3.0 – not true, sayothers!As reported in our main story, Broadcomalso announced at the AHM that itsBluetooth combo chip technology andassociated BTE software have beenqualified as compliant with the ratified

Bluetooth v3.0 + HS (high speed)specification. Broadcom claimed that itsInConcert BCM4325 Bluetooth + Wi-Fi +FM combo chip solution and Bluetoothsoftware was the first product in theindustry to achieve qualification, but weunderstand that the company may be beinga little economical with the truth, or at leastvery crafty with the wording of itsannouncement.

There is always a bun-fight over who didachieve first qualified product, and often,we have heard, the time difference hasbeen measured in hours, not weeks ormonths. We understand that the officialstats are that Atheros qualified the firstController Subsystem, Broadcom qualifiedthe first AMP Component and CSRqualified the first controller and L2CAPComponent. Does it matter? Well, for thesake of that all-important press release,apparently it does.

Meanwhile, Broadcom also took its turn topoke the competition, saying that whilecompeting implementations require multiplediscrete components that raise cost andpower requirements, Broadcom is able toprovide a single-chip solution that includesboth a qualified Bluetooth v3.0 BR/EDR(basic rate) controller and Wi-Fi Certifiedmedia access controller (MAC)/physicallayer (PHY) device.

Broadcom's Bluetooth BR/EDR controllersolutions also provide support for theEnhanced Power Control feature introducedin the Bluetooth v3.0 + HS specification.This feature provides improved control overtransmit power levels on Bluetooth BR/EDRlinks, improving the robustness ofcommunications and providing betteroptimized power consumption.

Whatever the reality of who did what first,and how many components they used todo it, the reality is that when we last lookedthere were three semiconductor companiesoffering Bluetooth 3.0 silicon solutions.Which must be good.

newswww.incisor.tv5

Initial results from ST-Ericsson JV not stellarThe 50/50 wireless-semiconductor jointventure between Ericsson andSTMicroelectronics, which startedoperations on February 2nd 2009, hasannounced results for its first two monthsof operation. The headlines? Net sales of $391 million,an operating loss of $98 million and atarget of $230 million of annualizedsavings expected from a new program ofresources and operations re-alignment toreflect the outcome of the integration aswell as current unfavorable businessenvironment.

President and CEO Alain Dutheilcommented: "Our sales development inthe quarter reflects the broad-basedeconomic downturn that has led toweaker consumer demand for handsetsand put pressure on the overall wirelesssemiconductor industry. Even in such achallenging climate, during the firstquarter of 2009 we confirmed our numbertwo position in the market, we renewedour focus on innovation and westrengthened our partnership with keycustomers. We were the first toconsolidate in our industry, creating a newglobal leader in wireless platforms andsemiconductors, and we are currentlyexecuting on an alignment of ouroperations that will allow us to shape thelong term success of the company, whilecreating a sustainable cost structure forthe short and medium term."

Dutheil added that the operating loss of$98 million was a consequence both ofthe level of sales and of price pressure onmargins, partially offset by alreadyplanned reductions in operating expensesrelated to the cost synergies programpreviously announced by ST-NXP Wirelessin November 2008.

The JV is about to implement arestructuring plan that is due to becompleted by the second quarter of 2010.This plan is incremental to the $250million cost synergies program announcedby ST-NXP Wireless in November 2008.Annualized savings of the newrestructuring plan are expected to beapproximately $230 million uponcompletion. Restructuring costs areestimated in the range of $70 - 90 million,of which the majority is expected to berecorded during the second quarter of2009.

.... no pain relief forSony Ericsson, eitherAt the same time that the semiconductorcompanies are suffering, there is still norespite for the handset manufacturers. Thelatest set of grim results comes from SonyEricsson, which has just released itsnumber for Q1 2009. Units shipped in thequarter were 14.5 million, a decrease of35% compared to the same period of lastyear. Sales for the quarter were Euro 1,736million, a decrease of 36% from a yearago. Sony Ericsson puts the salesdecrease primarily down to ‘continuedweak consumer confidence and de-stocking in the retail and distributionchannels’. Gross margin declined bothyear-on-year and sequentially, and thiswas put down to a change in the productmix, material write-offs, and exchange ratevolatility. Income before taxes for thequarter excluding restructuring chargeswas a loss of Euro 358 million.

Dick Komiyama, President, Sony Ericsson,did his best to put on a brave face. “Asexpected, the first quarter of this year hasbeen extremely challenging for SonyEricsson due to continued weak globaldemand. We are aligning our business tothe new market reality with the aim of

bringing the company back to profitabilityas quickly as possible.”

The company’s initial cost saving programtargeting annual operating expensereductions of Euro 300 million by the endof the first half of 2009, including aworkforce reduction of 2,000 headcount,has apparently now been completed. Atotal of Euro 187 million restructuringcharges have been recorded compared tothe initial estimated costs of Euro 300million. That obviously wasn’t enoughthough, and in January 2009 an additionalcost saving program was initiated totarget annual operating expensereductions of Euro 180 million by the endof 2009. The cost of this program will becovered by the initial Euro 300 millionrestructuring costs announced in July2008.

There is more bad news for the SonyEricsson workforce. Komiyama alsorevealed that the additional cost savingprogram will include a further reduction inthe global workforce of approximately2,000 people. It is estimated that newrestructuring charges of Euro 200 millionwill be needed to complete this program.

Things can’t get any worse, can they?

newswww.incisor.tv6

Mobile handset marketstays afloat Despite tough corporate and unemploymentnews making the headlines, the mobilehandset-buying public didn’t head to the hillsduring the first quarter of 2009. Handsetvendors had shipped 258 million handsets bythe end of the quarter. Although thatrepresents an 11% year-over-year decline, theresult significantly exceeded the previousforecast of 253.5 million. “Green shoots aresprouting,” is how ABI Research vice presidentJake Saunders describes the latest figures.

Distributors reduced their inventories in Q42008 and Q1 2009 as they prepared foreconomic Armageddon but the market did nottake another “leg down” in Q1 2009. ABIResearch has introduced a note of mildoptimism in its handset forecasts for YE 2009, revising them from -8.4% to -8%.Saunders commented, “This will not be a V-shaped recovery. Q2 2008 was a fairlystrong quarter for handset sales so handsetshipments for Q2 2009 are going to report a -10% decline YoY, but QoQ, they should showimprovement.”

Kevin Burden, another ABI bod added, “Asalways there are winners and losers. Samsungand LG demonstrated healthy gains to taketheir market shares to 17.8% and 8.8%respectively. Another star performer was RIMwhich raised its share to 3.0% due largely tothe success of its Blackberry Bold. It is a littlecurious that Apple’s market share is just 1.5%given the success of its AppStore. As popularas the iPhone3G has been, increasedcompetition in the touchscreen segment and alack of product differentiation may bedampening demand.” ABI Research expectsthat by 2H 2009 the iPhone3G will have one ormore siblings. That will allow Apple toaccelerate growth.

Nokia was beaten out by SonyEricsson for thedubious distinction of showing the largestcontractions (their shares now stand at 36.2%and 5.6%).

Despite the positive signs, says ABIResearch, the industry should be cautious.The IMF has issued another sharpdowngrade to its global outlook.Unemployment figures are also likely tocontinue creeping up. Buyers in thedeveloped world are still concerned aboutdebt and job security. Developing economiesare expected to take a hit on the credit sidewhich could have knock-on consequences oncredit lines for purchases and stock levels.

Low energy wirelessboosts homeautomation shipments Largely undeterred by current negativeeconomic conditions, vendors of homeautomation systems are expected to shipnearly 2.8 million of them in 2011, accordingto a new study from ABI Research.

Only one of the four segments of this market– that for luxury systems – will besignificantly impacted by the recession,according to senior analyst Sam Lucero.“The luxury home automation market forsystems costing more than $50,000 isrelatively mature, so it will feel the greatestimpact from the recession. Two othersegments – standards-based mainstreamhome automation systems and homeautomation as a service - are so new andhave so much room for growth that theyshould expand rapidly starting in 2010 nomatter the progress of the wider economicrecovery. Likewise, the final segment – DIYhome automation – is tied to a certain extentto these other newer segments and shouldalso see healthy growth.”

Rather, says Lucero, the challenges toachieving that growth are related to creationof new market mechanisms: thedevelopment of distribution channels, andthe education of consumers as to thebenefits and availability of home automationtechnology.

ABI believes that new standards-basedwireless technologies such as ZigBee and Z-Wave mean that many mainstream homeautomation installations are now in the $10-15,000 range with prices falling fast.This segment is further driven by the growingavailability of peripheral components that areavailable not only from the vendorsthemselves but through retail outlets.

Healthy growth forwireless patientmonitoringThe impact of the economic downturn andthe ever-growing cost burdens the healthcareindustry have taken on, has had somewhatof a positive effect on driving opportunitiesfor the use of wireless technologies withinthe healthcare industry forward, according toIMS Research. By investing in telehealthopportunities, a new positive pro-activeapproach, offers potential cost and timesaving benefits when monitoring patientswho are suffering from chronic diseasesand/or ageing independently.

A number of medical device and mobilehandset manufacturers are beginning toinvest in telehealth and associated services,which could provide the support that isneeded to drive these cost saving initiatives.Even Apple’s iPhone is jumping on thehealthcare bandwagon, by introducing a new application which enables the user to monitor their blood pressure and glucose levels.

However, alternative technologies beingconsidered by the Continua Health Allianceare beginning to make headway within thismarket; Home health hub manufacturer AT&Thas invested in ZigBee’s healthcare deviceapplication profile, and ANT technologies arebeing used in a number of supporting heartrate monitors and mobile phoneapplications. With this in mind, Bluetoothtechnology may not have an easy ride.

new productswww.incisor.tv7

Sanyo ships (costly)Wi-Fi projectors Sanyo, one of the world’s largestmanufacturers of LCD and DLPprojectors, is shipping two new ultraportable LCD projectors, the PLC-XU355and PLC-XU350 that integrate Wi-Fitechnology.

The PLC-XU355 and PLC-XU305 featurewhat Sanyo calls "Simple WirelessSetting" using USB memory. By insertingthe supplied USB memory drive into anyPC or MAC, only a single click (in mostcases, apparently) is required to create awireless connection to the projector. Thecomputer's screen can be projected upto 98-feet away. The distance, Sanyoadmits, varies depending onenvironmental conditions.

Either projector can be connectedwirelessly to multiple computers or up tofive projectors can be connected to asingle computer. No special programs ordrivers need to be installed on thecomputer because the projector's USBterminal allows the use of computersthat do not have CD-ROM or DVD-ROMdrives, such as Netbooks. These slim(12.8 x 3.27 x 9.1-inch) projectors arealso lightweight, weighing less than 7pounds.

All four ultra portable projectors will beavailable in mid-May 2009. We can seeonly one drawback and that is theMSRP. The two wireless projectors, thePLC-XU355 and PLC-XU305 are pricedat $2,595.00 and $2,395.00 respectively.Whereas their non-wireless counterparts,the PLC-XU350 and the PLC-XU300 arepriced at $1,495.00 and $1,295.00. OK,

there are other minor spec differences,but nothing to write home about. Whichmeans that you are paying more than athousand bucks to gain wirelessconnectivity.

You’ve really got to want to go wirelessto justify that premium.

Drone on Callpod (remember them from an Incisorissue way back?) has launched a Class 1Bluetooth dongle for PCs and Macs. Nota new idea, of course, but Callpod hasgone to the trouble of integrating a Class1 Bluetooth chip, which means you cancarry on listening to your music or takinga VoIP call while hundreds of feet awayfrom your PC.

You just plug the Drone, which supportsthe A2DP (Stereo) Bluetooth profile, intothe USB port of your computer. It willimmediately connect with your Bluetoothheadset or headphones to providestreaming music and voice over the 100meter (328ft) Class 1 range. There is nosoftware to install because the Dronehas on-board software whichcommunicates with the headset. Thecomputer sees the Drone as a USBspeaker and routes the audioautomatically. When a Skype call comesin, Drone switches over to the callautomatically. e.

Unlike many of the plastic-fantastic USB dongles out there, the Drone is alsomade from die-cast zinc and high impactpolycarbonate for strength and durability,so it stands a good chance of survivingwhen you drop it and run your chair over it.

Go tiny, MoTo! Motorola has gone small with its newQA30 Hint phone. This is an extremelycompact device that still manages toslide open to reveal a full QWERTYkeyboard. This tiny phone measuresonly 3.23 inches in length and 2.43inches in width before being opened,and weighs just 120g. Despite thecompact dimensions, Motorola has stillbeen able to cram in a full-colour 2.5”widescreen display.

Within this mini-Titan, there is also a fullHTML browser, email, GPS, anintegrated MP3 player that supportsMIDI, MP3, AAC, AAC+, AAC+Enhanced and WMA v9, a 3.5mmheadset jack, an 8GB optional microSDcard storage, high-speed USB 2.0connectivity, stereo Bluetooth capabilityand a 2.0 megapixel fixed-focus, digitalzoom camera that works in still andvideo modes, with Capture, Playback,Streaming, and supports H.263, MPEG4and WMV v9. Motorola claims up to4.5 hours talk time / up to 15 daysstandby.

That is a heck of a lot of technology ina very small package, and it is good tosee Motorola doing something differentand pushing the design boundaries.

Now, where did we put it again?

www.incisor.tv8

At the end of April, the Bluetooth SIGheld its All Hands Meeting in Tokyo,marking a first foray to the Far East forthe event, which has hitherto onlygraced Europe and the US. It’s theoccasion when the Bluetoothcommunity comes together once a yearto announce progress on the standards,share the experience of the differentworking groups and discuss thedirection of future development. Thisyear the event was augmented with aDeveloper’s Preview Day covering theemerging Bluetooth low energystandard, plus a day of technicaltraining for Bluetooth members.

The big news this year was the adoption ofthe new Version 3.0 of the standard, whichadds a high speed capability to Bluetooth.The design is flexible and allows for avariety of high speed “pipes” which can becontrolled by a standard Bluetooth link.This gives implementers and users theadvantage of being able to use existingBluetooth interfaces for initiating links,then automatically using other, higherspeed wireless technologies to transfer thecontent between devices. The first ofthese pipes is 802.11, providing datatransfer rates ten times those availablewith Bluetooth EDR. At the conferenceAtheros demonstrated the effect this hason reducing file transfer times to theassembled community. It was joined byCambridge Silicon Radio, and Broadcom inannouncing the availability of chipsets thatintegrate Version 3.0 Bluetooth with an802.11 radio and MAC. All threecompanies pulled out the stops to get theirnew chipsets formally qualified on the dayof the announcement. All we need to donow is wait for products to appear.

Although the press and marketing at the

All Hands Meeting concentrated on thelaunch of High Speed, there was a feelingamongst the audience that this was a jobdone, with most of the excitement beingfocused on the arrival and applications ofBluetooth low energy (see IncisorTV movie– Bluetooth low energy), which is currentlyslated for adoption by the end of the year.This new standard will enable a wide rangeof connected devices to communicate withand through mobile phones.

Bluetooth low energy, previously known asWibree, differs from other wirelessstandards in that it is a new technologyand yet at the same time it is not. If thatsounds like a contradiction, it is, but it is acontradiction that explains why it stands tobe so successful. Bluetooth low energy isnew in the fact that it is designed from theground up to support extremely low powerwireless devices. Although a number ofother standards may make that claim,most suffer from limitations, either becauseof the way they cope with an increasinglynoisy radio environment, or the power theyneed to operate, which makes themincompatible with coin cell batteries.Bluetooth low energy has been able tobenefit from the advantage of hindsight toaddress these issues, becoming the firstinteroperable wireless standard that solvesthese problems. Where it is not new is inthe fact that it has been designed to utiliselarge portions of standard Bluetooth chips.What that means is that the nextgeneration of Bluetooth chips for mobilephones and PCs will incorporate lowenergy alongside traditional Bluetooth atno extra cost, so that there will be a rapiddeployment of dual-mode Bluetoothhandsets.

Up until this point, Bluetooth low energyhas been very much below the radar.

There have been low keyannouncements of chipsets byBroadcom, CSR, EM Microelectronicsand TI, with a few privatedemonstrations, but as far as theindustry was concerned Bluetooth lowenergy remained a stealth development.That all changed on the Mondaypreceding the AHM when, at a packedconference hall in Tokyo, the BluetoothSIG hosted the first publicdemonstrations of the technology to anaudience of press and consumerelectronics companies. After a morningof technical and marketing information,three semiconductor companies –Cambridge Silicon Radio, NordicSemiconductor and Texas Instrumentsopened their kimonos to reveal theirroadmaps.

CSR had previously announced that itsforthcoming BC07 would be a dual-mode chip supporting Bluetooth lowenergy. It surprised the audience (andits competitors in the audience) byannouncing that it will also be offering asingle mode chip for use in slaveproducts. That will help to increase thediversity of single mode designs, whichis exactly what the new low energyecosystem needs.

TI renewed its earlier commitment toproviding both single-mode and dual-mode Low Energy devices with detailedinformation on its single-mode chipdesign. TI showed a videodemonstration of working silicon runningon a CR2032 coin cell. Whilst scepticsmight call foul over the use of a video asopposed to a live demonstration, TIjustified it by pointing out it would beillegal under Japanese radio law tooperate an uncertified device. Its single- ➔

Bluetooth All Hands meeting report

Bluetooth low energychip companies

open their kimonos in Tokyo

By Nick Hunn, Wifore Consulting

www.incisor.tv9

mode IC, the CC2540, is a flash memory-based device that includes both theBluetooth low energy radio, a general-purpose 8-bit MCU to run both theBluetooth low energy protocol stack andprofiles as well as the product’sapplication. It also includes analogue anddigital peripherals to enable the creationof Bluetooth low energy sensor devicesconsisting only of the CC2540 and theappropriate sensor. That will be music tothe ears of sensor manufacturers.

TI’s offering goes beyond the raw siliconto a royalty-free Bluetooth low energyprotocol stack, profiles and tools. On thatfront, TI announced that it will be offeringa $99 Bluetooth low energy developmentkit consisting of a coin-cell poweredsensor board and a USB dongle. TI willbe sampling selected customers verysoon, with the low-cost development kitavailable later this year. A neat aspect ofTI’s offering is that the chip has the samefootprint as its new ZigBee single chipsolution, so product designers can spin asingle pcb to evaluate the two wirelesstechnologies, or even to offer bothoptions within a product range. It willalso be a boon to companies producingdevelopment kits and modules.

Nordic Semiconductor announced acomprehensive family of chips andchipsets designed to satisfy almost anyapplication for low power devices,whether that be sensors, or controllerdevices such as watches and displays.Its µBlue range will kick off this year withtwo chips – the nRF8001, which is asingle chip low energy device for slaveapplications and the nRF8200 low energyapplication microcontroller. Theseprovide average operating currents below10µA in a compact 5x5 QFN package.Nordic sees initial applications inwatches, which can be used in

conjunction with mobile phones toprovide call control, caller ID, out ofrange alarms and music control. Thisfirst family of chips will be available in2009, with a second generation ofchipsets providing a single mode mastersolution following on their heels in 2010.

Anritsu has been working closely with thevarious chip companies over the last sixmonths, providing development testers tohelp characterise their chips. Anritsutook this opportunity to publicly displaycapturing data from a Bluetooth lowenergy transmission (albeit on aconducted link to appease the Japanesewireless police). As well as providing testinformation, the MT8852B-27 has a neatwindows interface, giving graphicrepresentations of the power andmodulation characteristics of the radiopackets. Its availability will help speedup the introduction of Bluetooth lowenergy devices into the market, as itgives equipment manufacturers themeans to deploy production line testequipment as soon as the specification islaunched. That’s in contrast to the earlydays of Bluetooth, when manufacturershad to design production test stationsfrom scratch, adding months to the timeit took to get products onto the market.It’s an important cog in the process ofgetting Bluetooth low energy to criticalmass.

And critical mass is firmly on the horizon.According to Fiona Thomson of IMSResearch, Bluetooth low energy has thepotential to be the fastest shippingwireless technology ever. Thomson toldthe delegates about the findings fromIMS’ latest research. The feedback IMShad from a market survey was so positivethat it is no longer asking when it willhappen, but how long it will take to shipthe first billion chips! That figure could

easily be reached and surpassed in thefirst four years of shipments.

IMS Research believes that by 2013, 70%of all mobile phones being sold withBluetooth functionality will support lowenergy Bluetooth. That provides animmense number of phones that can actas gateways to connect devices back tothe internet. They may be health andfitness devices, toys, domestic goods,alarms, or a host of new, connectedproducts. Bluetooth low energy letsmanufacturers extend their brand fromphysical hardware to web applications aswell as providing a new service model foroperators, breaking the current one wheretheir brand stops at the handset. WithBluetooth low energy the service offeringcan extend past the handset to fitness,health and connected fashion devices.

Anyone who doubted the momentum ofBluetooth low energy needs to look again.Much of the development up until thispoint has been going on behind closeddoors for commercial and IntellectualProperty reasons. After this All HandsMeeting and these first publicdemonstrations it’s clear just how far thatwork has advanced. It’s time for everyproduct designer to take a long hard lookat how Bluetooth low energy caninfluence their design roadmap andmarket space.

Nick Hunn Wifore Consulting Ltd email: nick@wifore.comwww.wifore.com

Effective High SpeedBluetooth v3.0 requires

the right software and silicon

www.incisor.tv10

Synergy architecture. CSR’s Synergy softwareenables customers to derive the industry’sbest Bluetooth v3.0 performance. Without astrong software base the advantages of thehigh-speed radio are compromised and theoverall system performance suffers.

Synergy is designed to work with all of CSR’srecently launched Connectivity Centreproducts including CSR9000. CSR9000uniquely integrates Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, FM Rx/Tx and Bluetooth low energy around aBluetooth hub - in the industry's smallestpackage with industry’s best radioperformance. As the software behind such acomprehensive product, Synergy not onlycomplies with the Bluetooth v3.0 spec andsupports all Wi-Fi variants, but also offerssupport for additional technologies such asBluetooth low energy, FM and GPS.

The other major challenge presented by thev3.0 High Speed specification is to ensure that the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios do notinterfere with each other, causing a reduction in performance. CSR is alreadyrecognised by its customers as the leader inadvanced Bluetooth + Wi-Fi coexistence

schemes, an area where competitiveofferings continue to fail to deliver.

Demand for increasing amounts of wirelesstechnologies in ever-smaller packages issomething that both consumers andmanufacturers want - but only on thecondition that it is done well. CSR’sConnectivity Centre strategy is based onCSR’s ‘Smart Integration,’ – CSR won’tcombine multiple technologies for the sakeof it, but only when it makes sense for thecustomer and when cost, space andperformance are not compromised. CSRlaunched CSR9000 at Mobile WorldCongress 2009 illustrating once again thatthe company remains well ahead of itscompetitors in terms of delivering superiorfunctionality and performance in a packagethat is 40% smaller than the closestcompeting alternative. With its qualificationto Bluetooth v3.0, CSR9000 presentscustomers with the industry’s strongestoffering for integrating high-speed Bluetooth,Wi-Fi, GPS and FM.

www.csr.com

The recent launch of Bluetooth v3.0 hasreinforced just why Bluetooth is the mostsuccessful short-range wireless technologyin use today. Its ability to evolve means thatit is constantly adapting to the growingdemands of what consumers andmanufacturers want from their devices.When the first Bluetooth standard wasratified back in 1999, the concept of ahandset or other portable device beingcapable of taking photos of several MB andor playing even larger music and video fileswas unheard of. The evolution tov2.1+Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) furtherillustrated Bluetooth’s ability to listen to theneeds of consumers and manufacturers.The release of v3.0 is the next step in thisconstant evolution and the result of closecooperation between the Bluetooth SIG andwireless technology leader CSR. CSR wasthe first company to qualify a Bluetoothv3.0 component with its innovativeCSR9000 Connectivity Centre product andSynergy host software.

The key addition in v3.0 is the inclusion ofsupport for Bluetooth over IEEE 802.11 a/b/g– with the Wi-Fi radio acting as AMP(Alternative MAC and PHY). This Wi-Fi AMP isfully supported in CSR’s Synergy andCSR9000 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and FMchipset, and allows Bluetooth to conducthigh-speed, power-efficient file transfer in co-operation with the higher speed IEEE 802.11radio.

The inclusion of 802.11 a/b/g AMP will allowconsumers to transfer files in just a tenth ofthe time it takes using classic Bluetooth. Withfile sizes and the capabilities of portabledevices increasing, the need for this is clear.When a Bluetooth device needs to transfer alarge file, CSR’s Synergy has the ability towake up the Wi-Fi radio to transfer filesquickly and easily. Not only does this providefaster transfer times, but can also allowBluetooth to transmit large files betweendevices using the most efficient radiotechnology available. CSR’s Synergy thenswitches off the Wi-Fi radio, returning controlto the much lower power Bluetooth radio.

A key part of this High Speed Bluetooth isoptimising the protocol layers to operate atvastly increased speeds. This requiresintelligent host software, which is somethingthat CSR has wrapped up with its innovative sponsored contribution

www.incisor.tv11

INCISORW-PANelIncisor expert panel speakson short-range wirelesstechnologies in the cellularhandsetIntroduced by Vince Holton

Welcome to this feature in which the Incisor WPANel speaks on a topic of interest toshort-range wireless industry observers.

The members of the Incisor WPANeI are thesenior executives from the organisations thatmanage the administration and developmentof Bluetooth, DECT/CAT-iq, EnOcean, NFC,Wi-Fi and ZigBee technologies. As weexplained last month, the WPANel changesnow as a result of the WiMedia Alliance’smerger into the Bluetooth SIG. WiMediaAlliance president Stephen Wood’s place isnow taken by Mr Koichi Tagawa of SonyCorporation. Mr Tagawa is the GeneralManager of Sony’s Global Standards andIndustry Relations Department that is incharge of technology standards andtechnology industry relations of the FeliCaBusiness. He actively contributed to theestablishment of the NFC Forum, holding theposition of Vice-Chairman from the start ofthe Forum in 2004 until becoming Chairmanin September 2008. With NFC’s growingprofile in the short-range wireless sector, weare very pleased to welcome Mr Tagawa tothe Incisor WPANel.

The ongoing WPANel members are MikeFoley, exec director of the Bluetooth SIG,Erich Kamperschroer, chairman of the DECTForum, Graham Martin, chairman of theEnOcean Alliance, Edgar Figueroa, executivedirector of the Wi-Fi Alliance and Bob Heile,chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. Each ofthese is an expert in short-range wirelesstechnology.

Last month the WPANel group gave us theirviews on marketing wireless technology.These can be read in last month’s issue.

This month I asked the WPANel members tolook at the subject of short-range wireless

technology in the cellular handset. Theselection of radios in the average handsetkeeps on growing. By now we are all familiarwith the idea of having Bluetooth in ourmobiles, and we are getting used to the ideaof having Wi-Fi too. Bluetooth 3.0 has nowgone public and so we enter the world wherethe cellphone may have classic Bluetooth,Wi-Fi and UWB on board not too far downthe line. But wait a minute – isn’t NFC animportant technology for handsets? Wibreeis represented by Bluetooth low energy, ofcourse, but we’re also hearing noises aboutother low power technologies encroachingon handset territory – a ZigBee-enabledhandset providing remote control facilities,perhaps? And with cordless handsets usedin office and home environments nowlooking and acting more and more like acellular phone, can we expect DECT/CAT-iqphones to start adding additional radios toallow for the transport of content accessedvia an Internet connection?

The handset companies are all having a hard time at the moment, and cannot afford to keep adding new radiotechnologies as they fight to reverse thesales slump. Or can they afford not to? What core short-range wireless technologiesdoes the handset just have to have? Andwhat can it live without?

If you have views, or suggestions as to howwe can develop the WPANel concept,ortopics you would like to see covered, emailme at vholton@incisor.tv.

Vince HoltonPublisher, Incisor & IncisorTV ➔

www.incisor.tv12

The Incisor W-PANel responds

How many SRW technologies can the handset take?

Mike FoleyExecutive director, Bluetooth Special Interest Group

This topic is an interesting one and hits atthe very crux of the value Bluetoothtechnology brings to handset manufacturers.It’s a fact – handset makers are dealing withpacking more function into ever smaller form factors. Bluetooth radios – leveraging802.11 for high speed and soon, Bluetoothlow energy for medical and fitness use cases means Bluetooth is the common radio platform for the widest range of use cases.

Talk of ZigBee in the handset is essentially anon-starter – not only is market penetrationan uphill battle as compared to the billions ofBluetooth devices already on the market -devices with which Bluetooth handsets canand do already connect, but adding anotherradio, especially one that is difficult tointegrate into a handset because ofinterference issues just does not makesense.

With Bluetooth technology, the usefulnessof the handset is easily extended to otherareas of people’s lives – i.e. handset asremote in the home for a feature-rich TVexperience, for control of home sensornetworks and personal health monitoring.Bluetooth is at the perfect spot betweenform and function – exactly where thehandset makers need to be.

Erich Kamperschroer, Chairman, the DECT Forum

CAT-iq provides brilliant voiceand sound quality and also customizedInternet content to cordless handsets inhome and office environments. It is alsoideally suited to providing voicecommunication in dual-mode cellularhandsets along with UMTS/GSM.

The industry is currently developing devices,that are able to switch between mobilenetworks (using GSM/UMTS) and fixed linenetworks (using CAT-iq) and which provide brilliant voice communication quality while connected in home and office environments.

This is another application area where CAT-iqis decidedly the best radio technology. TodayDECT/CAT-iq devices already provideBluetooth for short range wirelessconnectivity.

Edgar Figueroa, Wi-Fi Alliance Executive Director

There is no question thathandset makers have overwhelmingly optedto feature Wi-Fi in their flagship products –and carriers continue to embrace thespectrum management and coveragebenefits that Wi-Fi brings.

The wide variety of exciting Wi-Fi enabledsmartphones on the market today istestament to how pivotal Wi-Fi is intransforming the handset to a truemultimedia device. We are certainly seeingit in our certification trends: we’ve certifiedmore than 300 handsets to date, and 2009 is on-track to be our secondconsecutive annual record in number ofhandsets certified.

Consumer research makes it clear: userslove Wi-Fi on the handset, and once they’vetried it, they won’t do without it. Recently,a survey conducted by ABI Research foundthat 77 percent of users of Wi-Fi-enabledmobile phones are completely or verysatisfied with their device – a higher rate ofsatisfaction than that reported by users ofmobile phones without Wi-Fi. Seventy-fourpercent of people who have Wi-Fi on theirmobile phone use it, and 77 percent saythey will seek Wi-Fi in their next phone as well.

ABI also predicts that the number of Wi-Fienabled mobile phone shipments per yearwill reach 141 million in 2009 and 520million by 2014. In commenting on theresearch, ABI’s Michel Morgan said “Giventhe very high satisfaction rates reported byusers of Wi-Fi-enabled handsets, it is clearthat Wi-Fi offers a competitive advantagefor both manufacturers and carriers.” Iagree, and am particularly excited to watchthe market unfold on the road to half abillion handsets a year, with Wi-Fi deployed in an ever broadening array ofdevices, and users benefitting from how Wi-Fi technology will enable yet-to-be-imagined applications.

Bob HeileChairman, ZigBee Aliance

Why choose? Perhaps the timeis right for the emergence of multi-modelparts. Radio chips with the intelligence tobe and do more than one thing at a time.Ultimately, that will be the territory ofsoftware defined radios, the ultimate be-anything radio, but we are not quite thereyet. In the meantime, maybe there is anopportunity for something in-between. Forexample, a ZigBee radio and an 802.11bradio both have QPSK RF Physical Layers.A ZigBee stack is tiny in comparison to an802.11 implementation.

It would be relatively easy to tuck a ZigBeesolution into an 802.11 part. With a littlecleaver spoofing and cycle stealing onecould maintain the 802.11 session andconduct a low duty cycle ZigBee session.Two radios, one part. In the meantime,market forces will dictate which radios areessential. Which ones will make thewireless carriers the most money and whichones will help the handset manufacturersdefend their share positions. Should be afun time

Graham Martin, Chairman, EnOcean Alliance

The mobile phone has become an essential commodity item with manufacturers fighting to cut costswhilst increasing functions and services.Bluetooth has established itself as theviable technology for headsets and hands-free functions and Wi-Fi enables us to communicate via the internetwirelessly. Both of these make good senseand are therefore in demand but themajority of us could certainly live withoutother short range wireless technologiessuch as NFC, ZigBee, Z-Wave or EnOceanin mobile phones to open doors, switch on TVs, pay parking fees and so on. These ideas will therefore remain part of aniche market.

An example of such a niche market is inwireless home and building monitoring andcontrol, including energy and environmentalmanagement systems. These systems arebeing installed by EnOcean partnerseffectively today without the need to addadditional expensive hardware, complicatedsoftware and user interfaces to currentmobile phones.

The data from the wireless sensors andswitches positioned throughout the home orbuilding is collected in a central PCconnected to the internet. Using aBlackberry, for example, the user can checkthe status of the building at any time, fromanywhere, and can control various functionssuch as heating and switching off appliancesin stand-by mode to save costs and energyusage. The user may also view live video viatheir mobile phone using linked securitymonitoring cameras.

These systems are easy to install anduse, requiring nothing more than what isalready available in the majority ofhandsets. A further advantage is thehundreds of EnOcean interoperableproducts from multiple manufacturersavailable today helping to make thesesystems lower cost, flexible and easilyextendable. Most importantly, thesensors and switches are maintenancefree meaning they require no batteriesand no wires. ➔

www.incisor.tv13

Koichi Tagawa, Chairman, NFC Forum

The handset companies are allhaving a hard time at the moment, andcannot afford to keep adding new radiotechnologies as they fight to reverse thesales slump. Or can they afford not to? Whatcore short-range wireless technologies doesthe handset just have to have? And whatcan it live without?

To answer those questions, handsetmanufacturers must first answer three otherquestions: "What technologies will make mydevice more valuable and useful to theconsumer?"; "What technologies will maketasks in the user's life simpler and moreconvenient?", and "What technologies areenabling new applications that let people andbusinesses do things they couldn't do before?"

If they do their research and answer all ofthose questions, they will conclude that NFC isessential. In trial projects around the world,NFC has scored consistently high in useracceptance -- about 80% or above -- becauseit is effortless and intuitive, and simplifies manydaily tasks. But the third question is the key

one -- enabling entirely new applications.People talk about transport fares and otherpayments based on card emulation -- and theyare key applications -- but for many users, themost compelling reason to buy a new handsetis if it will do more for you as a consumer or asa business person -- including things you couldnever do before.

We just held our third NFC Forum GlobalCompetition to find the most innovative andcreative new NFC applications from thecommercial and research worlds. Every yearwe receive many brilliant and original entriesfrom areas as diverse as hospitality,healthcare, social networking, travel, financialservices and disabled assistance. Some ofthese applications are already gainingacceptance in the marketplace. For example,in the Netherlands, there are now 35,000home-care nurses using NFC technology tobetter manage patient care and scheduling.There are 100,000 NFC-enabled guest roomdoor locks deployed at hotels worldwide.They enable guests to bypass check-in, gostraight to their rooms, and unlock their doorswith their NFC-enabled phones.

NFC technology can also be used inRead/Write mode for Tag and Card reading

and writing, which is useful for things likeproviding point-of-purchase information.Peer-to-Peer applications, such as sharingcontact information by touching phones,comprise another major category with greatpromise.

NFC enables simple and easy set-up ofconnections. For example, to connect aBluetooth headset to a mobile phone, youjust hold the devices close to each other andthe connection automatically starts. Inaddition, we're seeing commercialapplications involving consumer electronicsdevices, such as sharing and printing imagesfrom digital cameras, as well as PCapplications, and we expect more to follow.

The success of the NFC trials and earlycommercial deployments has been veryencouraging. We at the NFC Forum havebeen working to support them in a number ofways. First, to ensure global interoperability,we have completed 11 NFC Forumspecifications. Two more will be announcedshortly. This will be followed in early 2010 bythe launch of our compliance program, whichwill give prospective users the assurance thatan NFC-enabled product will work aspromised anywhere in the world.

Wireless Data Coordinator– VERIZON WIRELESS

Chief Technology Office– CONCRETE LOGIC

Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff– MOTOROLA

RF System Architect– ARTIMI

Senior Engineer– SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS

Technical Director– EUREX COMMUNICATIONS

Short Range W/less Lead Eng.– FRACTUS

Senior Analyst– STRATEGY ANALYTICS

Chief Application Engineer– PHILIPS SEMICONDUCTOR

VP of Marketing & Business Development

– ZIGBEE ALLIANCE

Design Engineer– CSR

Business Dev. Manager– TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

R & D Engineer– HEWLETT PACKARD

Director, Seamless Mobility– MOTOROLA

Procurement Manager– BENQ

Systems Engineer– DAIMLER CHRYSLER

Principal Design Engineer– PANASONIC

Director, Product Development– MOTOROLA

Research Engineer– LG INNOTEK

Software Engineer– DELPHI DELCO ELECT.

Corporate Strategic Planning– LSI LOGIC

Fellow, Office of the Chief Technology Officer

– LSI LOGIC

Equity Analyst– HANDELSBANKEN

Senior Electrical Engineer– MOTOROLA

Hardware Engineer– GN MOBILE, GN NETCOM

Connectivity Manager– AMD

Principle Analyst– AUTOMOTIVE – iSUPPLI

Principle Engineer– MEDTRONIC

Digital Cellular RF Product Line Manager

– ANALOG DEVICES

Manager, Member Relations & Marketing– BLUETOOTH SIG

Senior RF Engineer– TDK ELECTRONICS

Engineer– ALPINE ELECTRONICS

Sen. MarCom Manager– SOCKET COMMUNICATIONS

RF Engineer– TAIYO YUDEN

Principle IC Architect– SILICON & S/WARE SYST.

Patent Engineer– GN STORE NORD

Researcher– EC JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE

Director Product Development– GENNUM

Analyst– CREDIT SUISSE

Patent Engineer– GN STORE NORD

Researcher– EC JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE

Director Product Development– GENNUM

Analyst– CREDIT SUISSE

Grant Holder– TELEFONICA

RF Product Manager– MURATA

Sen. Procurement Mgr.– PLANTRONICS

CEO- PLENUM WIRELESS

Confidential Agent– PHILIPPINE BUR. OF IMMIGRATN.

Software Engineer– SENNHEISER COMMUNICATIONS

Design Engineer– TRIMBLE NAVIGATION

Executive Director– OPEN SPECTRUM FOUNDATION

Software Engineer– SONY ERICSSON

Development Engineer– PARROT

Security Engineer– U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Director- WIQUEST

President & CEO– USA SIGNAL TECH.

Technical Manager, Bluetooth Qualification Board

– SONY ERICSSON

OSC– U.S. NAVY

President– TIBA MEDICAL

Lecturer– NANYANG POLYTECHNIC

R & D Project Leader– GN NETCOM

R & D Engineer– HEWLETT PACKARD

UWB Marketing Manager– STMICROELECTRONICS

Senior Engineer– SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS

Technical Strategist– LENOVO

ASIC Development manager– MICROSOFT

Senior manager Audio/infotainment architectures

– VISTEON CORPORATION

Senior product manager– BELKIN

Principle engineer– PLANTRONICS

Marketing engineer– TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

Senior systems engineer– GN NETCOM

Senior system architect & standardisation manager– NXP SEMICONDUCTORS

R&D engineer– FRANCE TELECOM

WOULD YOU LIKE TO TARGET THEPEOPLE ON THIS PAGE WHENMARKETING SHORT RANGE

WIRELESS PRODUCTS,APPLICATIONS OR SERVICES?

Listed on this page are just a few recent Incisor subscribers,added to a database built over 8 years.

• Incisor covers Bluetooth, Ultra Wideband, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, RFID and NFC.

• Read by an estimated 25,000 readers• At 1500+ companies.

Incisor is not a consumer publication, and therefore doesn’t claim to be read by hundreds of thousands, or even millions. We address those people all over the world that are seriouslyinterested in wireless technology – the decision makers and

technology influencers.

CONNECTING YOUR COMPANY WITH THE INCISORSUBSCRIBER DATABASE

If you would like to take advantage of the incredible marketcoverage Incisor enjoys by promoting your company,

products and services via sponsored editorial, advertising,web-licensing of content, video profiling and e-marketingto the Incisor database please contact Mike Knivett at

mike@incisor.tv or call +34 667 204629

Senior Applications Engineer– MOTOROLA

Project Manager– SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

Director, After Market Service– GN NETCOM

Director, R & D and BusinessDevelopment

– WEARNES TECH SOLUTIONS

Senior Product Manager– NOKIA

Director, Strategy & BusinessDevelopment– MOTOROLA

Product Manager– BELKIN CORPORATION

Software Development Manager

– CISCO SYSTEMS

Gen Mgr, Connectivity Div.– STMICROELECTRONICS

CEO- INNOVISION RES. & TECH.

Strategic Marketing– STMICROELECTRONICS

Marketing, Low Power W/less– TEXAS INST., NORWAY

www.incisor.tv15

If you have ever worked on medicaldevices, you know that the FDArequirements, much like the FAArequirements in the airline industry, arethere to protect the public. Theserequirements impose standards such asISO 9001 compliance on all who developmedical products.

With such stringent standards, why aresome Bluetooth wireless medical devicessubject to the same types of interoperabilityissues as commercial devices? Tounderstand this we need to first understandwhat ISO 9001 compliance means…

According to the International StandardsOrganization (ISO): The ISO 9000 family ofstandards represents an internationalconsensus on good quality managementpractices

ISO further states on the abstract locatedon its ISO9000:2008 page (see across).

What does this mean in practice?

It means that people who wish to complywith ISO 9001 must meet certain qualitymanagement standards as determined byISO.

Typically this implies a level ofdocumentation that, when audited by adesignated ISO auditor, results in asufficiently high level of compliance for ISO9001 certification.

While ISO 9001 dictates what requirementsa given quality system must meet, it doesnot outline how these requirements shouldbe met. In other words, companies canmeet the ISO 9001 requirements using avariety of methods.

Some companies may choose to managetheir requirements, risks, test cases, etc.using entirely paper-based methods, whileothers may choose to use complexsoftware programs that automatically relatetheir requirements with risks and testscases.

This is a good thing for customers, right?

The problem lies not in the intent, but inthe execution. Unless a company executesthe intent of ISO 9001 (BluetoothQualification, or WiFi Certification, WHQLCertification, or any other quality standard)its products will always be exposed to anincreased risk of field issues.

This is particularly important when itcomes to a complex and interoperablestandard such as Bluetooth wirelesstechnology. Much like ISO 9001, Bluetooth

SIG’s Qualification Program is designed toensure that devices comply with theBluetooth wireless specifications and toreduce the probability of issues betweenBluetooth wireless products.

The Bluetooth Qualification Program onlyextends to the Bluetooth SIG’s core,protocol, and profile specifications. Itdoes not cover implementation issuessuch as timeouts, customer-specificprotocols, and application-specificvariances.

Prior to the advent of the Bluetooth SIG’sMCAP (Multi-Channel Adaptation Protocol)and HDP (Health Device Profile), medicaldevices connected using unspecifiedprotocols built atop of the Serial PortProfile (SPP). As a result there arenumerous devices already in the field thatuse unique implementations of the SerialPort Profile (SPP) and more will bedeveloped before HDP is widely adopted. ➔

Managing theinteroperability of

Bluetooth medicaldevices

Why ISO 9001 compliance is NOT enough

By Peter Hauser, CEO, The Quality Factory

Source: http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=46486

INCISOR TV Video presentationsWhen it comes to assessing what is reallygoing on in the market, there is no substitutefor seeing products in action and hearing100% accurate information from the people atthe sharp end. Incisor TV provides that insight.

Click on the links below to watch recentIncisor TV presentations

DECT Forum and CAT-iq in 2009

Bluetooth SIG – Best of CES 2009

WiMedia Alliance – UWB in 2009

Incisor showreel

WiMedia special - UWB - a highperformance solution / part 1

WiMedia special - UWB - a highperformance solution / part 2

WiMedia special - WiMedia and Bluetooth

WiMedia special - Updating the WiMedia roadmap

WiMedia - The future for UWB

Bluetooth low energy wireless technology

IncisorTV commercial for CSR –BlueCore7

IncisorTV commercial for CSR RoadTunes

IncisorTV commercial for CSR BlueCore Player

A guide to Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR

10 years of Bluetooth / Best Bluetooth of CES 2008

CES 2008 – Profile of Parrot

Introducing Incisor

2007 Wireless Symposium

Bluetooth / Wibree launch event (full version)

Incisor TV overview: the Bluetooth SIG / Wibree Forum merge

Best Bluetooth of CES 2007

Incisor profile: Icron Technologies and Extreme USB

Wireless USB special - Introducing Wireless USB

Wireless USB special - Wireless USB in use

Wireless USB Special - Regulatory,approvals and interoperability

Wireless USB special - The future forWireless USB and UWB

Wireless USB special - Wireless USB at CES 2007

Vince Holton introduces the High SpeedBluetooth Special Issue

Anders Edlund of the Bluetooth SIG -Bluetooth and UWB combined

Robin Heydon, CSR - Bluetooth & UWB -The semiconductor company perspective

Motorola's Steve Deutscher examinesHigh Speed Bluetooth mobile concepts

Motorola video - Jordan's morning

www.incisor.tv16

Furthermore, many medical devicedesigns are being forced to changebecause the Bluetooth technology hasadvanced and the Bluetooth chips are no longer available. This “end of life”phenomenon poses a further challengefor medical device manufacturers who are faced with Bluetooth re-qualificationand ISO 9001 re-certification each timethey make design changes to theirhardware.

Some companies take the approach ofnot touching their devices. Instead, theymake bulk “end of life” chip purchases.Thus antiquated hardware stays incirculation for many years longer thanintended and burdens compatible devicecompanies who must maintain and testagainst these devices until their end oflife.

Other companies quietly integrate thenew chipsets into their products withoutundergoing the mandatory (andsometimes costly) Bluetooth Qualificationand ISO 9001 re-certification process ornotifying compatible device companies.

It only takes the action or inaction of onecompany to create nightmares for all.Manufacturers of “interoperable” productssuddenly start receiving customercomplaints.

These manufacturers must then react (perISO 9001) to the newly identifiedcustomer issue. This sets in motion asequence of events that leads to theinevitable realization that a device thatwas previously interoperable, is notanymore!

Had the offending company executed onits ISO 9001 obligations correctly thisscenario would have played-outdifferently…

The company would have received noticefrom its chip manufacturer of theimpending chipset phase-out and thuswould have had three choices:

• End of life the product (do nothing)• Purchase a large volume of chips

(end of life buy)• Phase-in the new chips (new design)

Because the company was customer-focused, it would have investigated theimpacts of the Bluetooth chipset phase-out, such as:

• Aging chipset long-term compatibilityimpacts

• New chipset compatibility and customer impacts

• Issues introduced by a new Bluetooth design

• Whether the product still makes sense• Product lifespan if maintained “as-is”

The resulting action plan would:

• Prioritize quality• Extensively test interoperability• Explicitly validate changes• Communicate product changes to

vendors

These companies would fully investigate,correct, and communicate interoperabilityimpacts prior to releasing the product tomarket or inform compatible hardwareproviders of the impending end-of-life ofthe product.

What can we do to improveinteroperability problems right now?

Unlike the mobile phone space, fewBluetooth medical device companiesmaintain extensive interoperability labs. It istherefore imperative that companies involvecompatible hardware providers wheneverinvestigating interoperability issues.

Companies should also consult withinteroperability experts to investigate anyimpacts caused by design changes to theirown products.

Correctly executing to ISO 9001 impliescommunicating with compatible hardwareproviders, testing for interoperability issuesBEFORE committing to a lifetime buy ordesign change, assessing risks, andmanaging the risks accordingly.

Peter Hauser is Chief Executive Officer ofThe Quality Factory LLCemail: peter@thequalityfactory.comwww.thequalityfactory.com

SnippetsEco-conscious consumers demandhigh end 'Green' phones

Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Lab report,“Environmentally Friendly Phones Must NotCompromise on Features or Design,” foundthat while environmental sustainability is not

top priority for most consumers, there is asignificant number of consumers who would bewilling to pay more for a mobile phone whichhas been manufactured in a sustainable, ethicaland eco-friendly manner, and which has a lowimpact on the environment during use.

www.incisor.tv17

BUY SOMETHING!Our preference, of course, wouldbe that you buy some space with

Incisor or IncisorTV

But if that’s not in the cards, buy a cellphone. Or a TV. A

springer spaniel. A meal at a nicerestaurant. A power drill.

Because if we all wait for therecession to be officially declared

over to start spending again, the problem will simply keep

feeding itself.

INCISOR.TV

J

www.incisor.tv18

Dear sweet Edna.

She’s 84 years young, of course;independently-minded, of amazingsound and crystal mind, determined,and crikey, she bakes the mostdelicious cakes – forget your Fitzbillies(Cambridge, UK), Edna’s carrot cakealways assures her of a daily visitor ortwo gracing her doorstep. It’s all tooeasy to forego the stereotypicalimages you inevitably conjure up of aretired English teacher, living on herown. Some have described Edna, as aconfident woman who enjoys livingher life on her own terms and havingthe freedom to potter around heridyllic one-bedroom cottage in thecentre of Cambridge. Edna’s steadyvisitors at her home on NewnhamRoad, always assure her of herindependence and reaffirm herundying belief that old age hasn’trobbed her of her dignity.

When approaching her front door, shewelcomes you with the warmest ofsmiles, as she gestures with anextended arm for you to greet her witha peck on the cheek, “take a seat; Iwon’t be a moment”, she says, as sheconfidently disappears into herkitchen. Moments later she appearsholding a large tray of crockery, cakesand coffee – you inevitably panic andimmediately rush to her aid, but sheinsists – “I have this, sit down andstop worrying” seems to be herpopular mantra.

Independence with AssistiveTechnology

Edna exudes engaging confidence, asshe lives with Assistive Technology (orAT), along with an imagination that hasn’tescaped her later years. AssistiveTechnology is a broad definition, whichbestows its adopters the unique ability tolive within a sphere of supportivetechnology-focused products that enablethe user to remain autonomous for aslong as possible. Telecare lies uniquelywithin this all-encompassing sphere,

comprising numerous technologies anddomains that have been crafted tosupport the infirm, disabled and elderly.Telecare is the provision of technologythat distinctively supports home-aloneliving, offering remote care for the elderlyand vulnerable people (Wikipedia.org).However, when Incisor caught up withAlison Rogan, Group Marketing Directorat Tunstall (tunstall.co.uk) she elaboratedfurther, stating that Telecare is “thecontinuous, automatic and remotemonitoring of real-time emergencies andlifestyle changes over time to managethe risks associated with independentliving.”

The etymon of Telecare is partly derivedfrom the word ‘Tele,’ a Greek word,which is used to characterise ‘overdistance’ whilst the care facet isevidently managed remotely. We havealready seen this prefix used in numerousother definitions and technologies, suchas, Telecommunications, Telephone,Telehealth, Telemedicine and so on. Wewill come back to Telehealth andTelemedicine later on in this article. Inthe meantime, Edna relies on Telecare, asit allows her to stay in her own homeknowing that, if there’s an emergency, allshe need do is push a button.

Living with the Enemy

After all, Edna lives with an enemy.Within her idyllic cottage she shrouds adark secret; a secret she must keep fromthe rest of her world. If people discoverthis secret she fears she will be treateddifferently and her independence willultimately be stolen. Perhaps, sherefuses to believe that her frailty has out-paced her mind, which she feelsoccasionally lets her down. But, as wetake a closer look, and are also guilty ofbecoming distracted by her charmingchildhood stories, we have missedEdna’s numerous bruises on her armsand legs. Why didn’t we see this before?

Again, on closer inspection, it becomesobvious with the numerous stains on hercarpet that she hasn’t successfully

ventured from the kitchen to place thetray with the gorgeous carrot cake ontoher table. Edna so desperately avoidsthe sanctity of her visitors having to lookafter her and it seems what we didn’twitness when Edna brought us thosedelicious cakes and coffee in her bestcrockery was the agonising pain maskedby her pride. Edna’s searing back painkeeps her awake at night and, even withher prescribed pain killers, it just doesn’tabate. The pills make her drowsy andforgetful for the rest of the following day.But, despite this, she has been fightingfor her independence, simply refusing tobe that stereotypical incapable oldwoman, and rightly so.

Telecare: Edna’s Saving Grace

But her agonising pain and her frequentfalls didn’t go unnoticed, as it was Ednathat made the first step towardsensuring her independence – Ednawasn’t in denial; she knew she neededhelp. It’s like babies steps at first, butshe knew she could run again (well,almost), with the support from her onlydaughter, who contacted the numerouscompanies that retro-fit a selection ofintelligent technologies, in essence,forming an integral remote health caresystem that she could always dependupon in an emergency and not be at themercy of others. You see, even if Ednawas not in a position to push a button,the technology within her home wouldalways sense her difficulty and assureEdna of immediate assistance. Morespecifically, we are referring to falldetectors, which are capable ofautomatically detecting serious falls andraising an alarm to the remote Telecarecentre (tunstall.co.uk).

The wealth of products and applicationsare enormous – it is difficult to knowwhere to start. Anyhow, with a bedoccupancy sensor (tunstall.co.uk), forexample, Edna would be able toconfidently leave her bedroom to visitthe bathroom knowing that her bedsidelight will automatically illuminate as sheleaves her bed and, likewise, extinguish ➔

Telecare:

Saving Ednaby Dean Anthony Gratton

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upon her return. But most importantly, ifEdna doesn’t return to her bed after ashort while, again an alarm isautomatically triggered at a dedicatedremote care centre.

Delivering Telecare

In other examples of Telecare,applications such, as smoke, movement,fall, window and door sensors allparticipate in supporting the well-beingof the infirm and elderly. Most of thesetechnologies utilise some kind of short-range RF or fixed technology, whether it’sBluetooth wireless or the EuropeanSocial Alarm Frequency standardoperating between 869.20 to 869.25MHz,which Mike Hodges, Research andDevelopment Directory at Tunstall(tunstall.co.uk) confirms “is a well-recognised standard across Europe”.Using this standardised frequencyensures that other radio frequencies willnot interfere with life-critical equipment.In addition to offering support to theelderly the same technology offerssupport to lone workers who mightventure into a dangerous environment toundertake a task. If the lone workerdoesn’t return to their vehicle or initiate acall for help, then immediate assistancecan be provided.

Moreover, Telecare and its associatedtechnology doesn’t seem to beovercomplicated. Naturally, technologyhas to be simple and it needs to be, asto avoid complexity, confusion andmisunderstanding – Edna doesn’t want tobe overwhelmed by a system that sheneeds to fully understand. Put simply,she needs to be assured that she canconfidently rely on a technology thatprovides her with 24-hour support. Infact, this support can be extended tointegral communication systems, whichpermit communication to the remotecontrol station. A remote care assistantor nurse can make a call, to say, thehome of Edna through an integratedspeaker and microphone system toensure Edna’s well-being and safety in atwo-way conversation. If Edna doesn’trespond for whatever reason, thenimmediate assistance is provided.

Telehealth and Telemedicine

We touched upon earlier, Telehealth andTelemedicine, which are other forms ofassistive technologies that are providedremotely. Primarily, the technology withinthis medical domain differs to Telecare,but can extend the Telecare package, ifyou like. Telehealth and Telemedicineboth offer remote assistance toindividuals who don’t necessarily want tobe hospitalised. In essence, remote

treatment can be provided to patientswhere vital signs can be monitored andthe delivery of medicine afforded by aremote control station – likewise, medicaltreatment or urgent assistance can beurgently provided if needed. AlisonRogan confirms Telehealth as “thedelivery of medical care at a distanceusing electronic means ofcommunication”. Telecare andTelehealth, whilst providing separateforms of assistive technology, togetherform a system that reduces the need tooffer full-time social care. With thecurrent lack of resources in hospital care;the technologies reduce the overheadsassociated with ‘the system’ and mostimportantly perhaps maintain the dignityof those who utilize their capabilities.

What’s more, Telecare, Telehealth andTelemedicine together afford the elderlyand infirm greater longevity within theirown homes, but their methods may seema little impersonal – where’s the humancontact? Perhaps, instead of seeing thetechnologies as isolating, we should takethe view that for people like Edna, theopportunity to stay in their own homes,guardedly independent and yet withcontact from existing family and socialnetworks the unobtrusiveness of thetechnology is priceless. We should leaveyou with one final resting thought: okay,so the control station always has theability to remote call Edna’s home; let’shope that in her desperate need ofsupport and assistance she doesn’t thinkshe’s talking to God!

You can contact Dean atdean@deangratton.com and read moreabout his work at www.deangratton.com.

Global handset shipments fall atfastest rate in history

According to the latest research fromStrategy Analytics, global mobile handsetshipments fell a huge 13 percent year-over-year, to reach 245 million units in Q1 2009.De-stocking by cautious retailers and aworldwide economic downturn causedhandset shipments to fall at their fastestrate in the industry’s 27-year history.

APTX targets Korean consumer audio design

APTX, a developer of licensable intellectualproperty for consumer audio compression,has appointed Apache Korea Corp toprovide sales, vertical marketing andtechnical support for apt-X audio codectechnology in the Republic of Korea.Apache Korea is an established distributor ofdigital wireless audio solutions – includingBluetooth, UWB, Wi-Fi, and ZigBeecomponents.

BluetoothIVT ships 3.0 stack for Moblin/Android

IVT has released what it claims is the world’sfirst Bluetooth V3.0+HS commercial stack forIntel’s Moblin and Google’s Androidplatforms. On top of its own latest BluetoothV3.0+HS stack, IVT is now developingBlueSoleil 7.0 multi-wireless connectionmanager, which can support multiple radiosand can run on Window 2000, XP, Vista andWindow 7, Moblin and Android.

Bluetooth low energy L2CAPSpecification

The Bluetooth SIG’s Ultra Low Powerworking group (ULP WG) has submitted theBluetooth low energy L2CAP ChangeRequest (CR) for review. This CR specifiesthe changes to the L2CAP Part of theBluetooth Core specification that are requiredto be implemented in Bluetooth low energydevices. The publication of this draft CR theworking group considers final will begin the45-day Technical Review Period.

Bangkok UnPlug-Fest goes aheaddespite unrest

It is fair to say that life in Bangkok, Thailandhas been unsettled in recent times. Guesswhat? Bangkok is the venue for the nextBluetooth SIG UnPlug-Fest (UPF), whichtakes place during June. The Bluetooth SIGsays that it has been closely monitoring thecivil unrest, and has been consideringmoving the event to another location.However, after reviewing news and othertravel advisory sources, the SIG has decidedto move forward with the event as originallyplanned. Any changes to this plan will bepublished via the UPF website.

Snippets

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It seems the pro- Wi-Fi steamrollercontinues to rumble along. The latestflag-waver is market researchcompany In-Stat, which is predictingthat 802.11n Wi-Fi technology willdominate the wireless HD videomarket, at least for the next severalyears. Three other technologies arecompeting in this space—WirelessHome Digital Interface (WHDI),WirelessHD, and Ultra Wideband(UWB). However, In-Stat believes thatthe ubiquity of Wi-Fi technology isproving unstoppable. And, as wecomment below, this could be the nextphase in a measured campaign toachieve Wi-Fi dominance in the short-range wireless space.

“802.11n is the next generation of theimmensely popular Wi-Fi family. Itpromises data rates above 100Mbps andis backwards compatible,” says BrianO’Rourke, In-Stat analyst. “The installedbase of Wi-Fi is immense, and effectivelyincludes all mobile PCs, many mobilephones and a wide variety of CE devices.The primary drawback to 802.11n isexpense, since it requires codectechnology on both ends to transmit HD video. Neither of its primarycompetitors, WHDI and WirelessHD,requires codecs.”

Recent research by In-Stat found thefollowing:

• UWB will not be a major factor in theconsumer electronics market. Manychip companies are leaving the marketin late 2008 and 2009.

• Nearly 24 million digital TVs will shipwith some type of Wireless HD videotechnology in 2013.

• WHDI and WirelessHD are beingpromoted by start-ups, but they arenew, expensive, and power-hungry,which is generally not a recipe forquick market success.

• WHDI and WirelessHD will see a slowstart, with fewer than eight milliondevices with those technologiesshipped in 2013.

With these predictions, In-Stat seems tobe jumping on the pro- Wi-Fibandwagon. There is no question that adefinite push is being made by the Wi-Ficompanies, which are acknowledged asaggressive and ambitious, to grab theshort-range wireless centre ground.

‘O’Rourke doesn’t mention, of coursethat it is based around a standard –802.11n - which is not yet ratified and isnot likely to be ratified until sometimeearly in 2010.

Meanwhile, as reported elsewhere in thisissue (see next page), Wi-Fi companiesare seriously considering developing Wi-Fi-based WPAN applications for use indevices such as headsets. OzmoDevices, which develops low-power Wi-Fi Personal Area Network (Wi-Fi PAN)solutions, and Wolfson Microelectronicsare collaborating to deliver an audioreference design to manufacturers ofaudio peripherals. Ozmo’s Wi-Fi PANsolution apparently enables connectivitybetween peripherals such as mice andheadsets and Wi-Fi–enabled platforms.

At one time, the powerful position thatWi-Fi is aiming for seemed to be territorysecurely held by Bluetooth. WithBluetooth 3.0, the Bluetooth SIG isaiming to manage the Bluetooth/Wi-Firelationship, but will it work out that way?

Rumours are already circulating thatBluetooth’s position is threatened, andthere is no doubt that the FUD factor iscoming into play. Bluetooth SIG execMike Foley has already found itnecessary to respond. In a recent blog,Foley commented: “Although I workedwith the Wi-Fi Alliance when I wasemployed at Microsoft, the Bluetooth SIGis not a member of the Wi-Fi Alliance. As

such, I am not privy to the work going onin that organization and so cannotpersonally comment on anything the Wi-Fi Alliance may be doing beyondinformation that is publicly available.What I can share is that the traditionalrole of the Wi-Fi organization has been tocreate a test and logo program fortechnology developed by the IEEE. Overthe years, the line of responsibilitiesbetween the Alliance and the IEEEblurred when stalling of the IEEE resultedin some specification development beingaddressed in the Wi-Fi Alliance. A moveby the Alliance to take on a new, broadspecification development task such asexpanding 802.11 for true PAN operationin a Wi-Fi environment would severelystretch this capability base. While ofcourse not impossible, this type of effortwould raise the question of the Alliancespreading itself too thin and opening thedoor for others to encroach on thecurrent strength of Wi-Fi: certifying IEEE802.11 LAN products. I welcomecommentary from the Wi-Fi Alliance inresponse to this post and look forward toclearing up the confusion about therelationship between Bluetooth and802.11 (not Wi-Fi) in Bluetooth v3.0 +HS”. Read the full version of Mike’s bloghere.

This is going to be a tricky situation tomanage. The old truism is that this is abig market, with room for many players.But it is true to say that the biggest andmost aggressive dogs generally lead thepack, and Wi-Fi seems to be aiming tobe Top Dog. To round off thiscommentary with one more cliché, theBluetooth companies would do well toremember that while there may be sometruth in the old maxim ‘keep your friendsclose, and your enemies closer still’,close proximity can also provideopportunities for back stabbing.

Is this debate the next major topic thatwill dominate proceedings for months oryears to come? Only time will tell.

802.11n Wi-Fi “thespoiler at the Wireless

HD Video Party”Next step in campaign for global dominance?

wi-fi / wlan news

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Wi-Fi invades headsetterritoryIf you thought that Bluetooth’s tenure of thehandset/headset relationship wasunshakeable, think again. Incisor learns thatOzmo Devices, a low-power Wi-Fi PersonalArea Network (Wi-Fi PAN) solutions provider,and Wolfson Microelectronics arecollaborating to deliver an audio referencedesign to manufacturers of audio peripherals.The goal is to enable connectivity betweenperipherals such as mice and headsets andWi-Fi–enabled platforms – this is realBluetooth HID territory.

It seems things are still at the PowerPointstage at the moment, as the two companiessay that they are planning to show and demoa reference design at the Intel DeveloperForum in San Francisco, during August.

The OZMO1000 Audio Reference Designworks on a 1.8V power supply, yet is claimedto provide the same audio volume as largerdevices using a 3.3V power supply. Its dualband radio design is compatible with Ozmo-enabled IEEE802.11g and IEEE802.11awireless LAN hosts. That bit soundsinteresting – ‘Ozmo-enabled WLAN hosts’ –does this mean some proprietary stuff goingon that the rest of the Wi-Fi world wouldhave to buy into in order for the Wi-Fi WPANto become a reality?

It seems not everyone is convinced by the Wi-Fi PAN proposition. Incisor spoke to leadingBluetooth semicon company CSR. AlanWoolhouse, vice president of marketingcommunications commented: “The criticalissue for consumer electronic devices is cost.Bluetooth has the lowest cost silicon forstereo and mono headsets that connect to thedevices that most people have - like cellphones. CSR’s Bluetooth silicon alreadyintegrates exceptionally high quality stereocodecs enabling a true single chip stereoheadphone solution at the lowest possiblecost.”

A straw poll of others in the industry drew a

similar reaction. The feeling on the streetcan be summed up in one short sentence –the Wi-Fi PAN ain’t going to happen. Thatprobably won’t stop Ozmo and Wolfsonpursuing what they see as the opportunity.

It is called technology bleed. Or innovation.Or competition.

AT&T sees surge in Wi-Fi connectionsAT&T, which claims nearly 20,000 USdomestic Wi-Fi hotspots, is reporting“dramatic” growth in the number of Wi-Fiusers and connections. AT&T says that Wi-Ficonnections totalled 10.5 million in the firstquarter of 2009 – more than triple the 3.4million connections in the first quarter of2008, and more than half AT&T’s 20 milliontotal Wi-Fi connections for all of 2008. TheNetOp believes that the usage surge wasdriven by various factors, including growth inits wired and wireless broadband customerbase, the proliferation of Wi-Fi enableddevices and the transition of Starbuckslocations to AT&T’s Wi-Fi footprint.

AT&T provides Wi-Fi access at no extracharge with to subscribers to its qualifyingAT&T high speed Internet plans, 3GLaptopConnect plans and selectsmartphone plans.

It seems AT&T is putting its weight behindWi-Fi as a route to new revenueopportunities, and is encouraging partnersalong to the party. In January, Sonyintroduced a Wi-Fi enabled digital camerawith a built-in web browser andcomplimentary access to AT&T’s Wi-Finetwork. AT&T is also offering wirelesslyembedded mini laptops – the Acer AspireOne, Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and Mini 12, andLG Xenia – in select AT&T store trialpromotions in Atlanta and Philadelphia.More than 4 million connections at AT&T’sU.S. Hot Spots in the first quarter wereapparently made with smartphones,including the iPhone 3G.

Video-over-wirelessinfrastructure for802.11n networksMeru Networks has introduced a wirelessLAN solution that has been optimised fordelivering high-quality video over IEEE802.11n networks.

Meru's product, called the Video ServicesModule (ViSM) is designed to addressvideo-delivery issues specific to 802.11nnetworks, which Meru describes assusceptible to unpredictable loss rates thatcan negatively impact video quality. Themodule applies application-awareoptimisation techniques to web streamingand real-time multicast video, theunderlying technologies that enable a broadarray of video applications, from wirelessprojection, IPTV and event simulcast tovideoconferencing, telepresence and videosurveillance.

Vaduvur Bharghavan, Meru's chieftechnology officer explained Meru’sstrategy: "The power of the Video ServicesModule lies in Meru's unique virtualizedWLAN architecture, which gives every clientdevice its own dedicated wireless 'port’.With Meru's Virtual Port, each client gets itsown copy of the multicast applicationtraffic, delivered at the highest possibledata rate and unaffected by thetransmission or power-save behaviour ofother clients. In other vendors' legacymicro-cell solutions, which force all clientsto share the same wireless resource, someclients will always suffer in terms of thetimely delivery of multicast frames whenother clients require buffering of traffic, thuscausing multicast video delays for everyclient."

Meru will make the Video Services Moduleavailable in June as an add-on module to itsSystem Director software. As a guideline,for a network with 100 wireless accesspoints, the module is priced at $7,995.

uwb / wireless USB news

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Wireless USB adapterfor PC to monitor/HDTVdisplay There is life in the UWB/Wireless USB marketyet! Atlona Technologies, which makesconnectivity solution-based AV products, andWisair, one of the remaining UWB/WirelessUSB chip companies, have announced theavailability of a Wireless USB display adapterset that wirelessly transfers PC content toTVs, monitors and projectors. Users canview video, Internet content and picturesfrom their computer on monitors and HDTVdisplays without the hassle of extra cables.

The Wireless USB Adapter Set featuresVGA and HDMI outputs with the ability ofboth outputs being active simultaneously. Itsupports up to 1400x1050 screenresolution, provides a wireless range of upto 30 feet (in the same room), and is a fully-standard USB-IF certified solution.

Christopher Bundy, Atlona’s director ofmarketing, noted "We've been seeingstrong customer demand to be able to viewPC content on displays and projectorswithout any video cables, so we are veryexcited about the potential of this newoffering. We have examined severaltechnological solutions, and Wisairs'undoubtedly provided the best range and

performance at the most attractive pricepoint."

The set is expected to be available in USretail stores in May at an MSRP of US$129.The two companies described that price as‘affordable’. Err ...... to some, maybe, butstill not pocket money. Still, it’s good thatthis kit is getting out there, and as volumesbuild, then prices should come down.

Hope so – this kit would get a lot of use inthis house.

low energy wireless newsListed building benefitsfrom wireless solution The historically important Mond laboratorybuilding at Cambridge University hasbecome the first educational establishmentin the UK to feature EnOcean-basedtechnology, using MK Electric’s Echo rangeof wireless and battery-less light switches.

The rotunda-based building, which iscovered by a Grade II listing, was designedin the early 1930s by architect HC Hughes asa laboratory for the Russian Nobel Prizewinner Leonidovich Kapitza The constraints of working with listedbuildings – such as the Mond – madewireless switching an ideal solution as itobviates the need for chasing or any wiringin walls. Echo’s EnOcean-enabled self-powered switches are entirely wireless andbattery free. The benefits include almostinstant switch installation, total locationflexibility of light switches within buildings,easy relocation and re-installation, plusconsiderable cost-savings when ‘churning’spaces.

The Echo lighting system essentiallycomprises two components: the self-powered switch, and an RF receiver. Thereceiver is installed at the lighting fixture andwired into the lighting circuit at the time ofceiling installation. The switch is thenmounted, using either adhesive pads, forsuper-fast fixing or onto awkward surfaceslike marble or glass, or with screws ifadditional security is necessary. The switchis simply ‘aligned’ to the receiver by setting itinto learn mode and pressing the rocker. The

switch is then wirelessly paired to thefixture in question. One receiver can beprogrammed so it can be operated by up to30 switches; while, conversely, any numberof receivers can be activated by a singleswitch. Where signals may be obstructedby impervious materials such as granite orsteel, repeater units are available which willdivert and/ or extend transmissions arounda building.

$8 Million in newfinancing for Ember ZigBee specialist Ember Corporation hassucceeded in closing an additional $8million in funding from its primary venturecapital investors and strategic partners.Ember believes that this success is based

on investor confidence resulting from asignificant surge in the deployment of smartmeters.

Polaris Venture Partners, GrandBanksCapital, RRE Ventures, Vulcan Capital, DFJePlanet Ventures, New Atlantic Ventures,WestLB Mellon Asset Management (formerlyWest AM) and strategic partners such asChevron Technology Ventures and StataVenture Partners participated in the round.This new round combined with existinginvestments from STMicroelectronics,Hitachi Corporation and MIT bring the totalcapital Ember has raised to $89 million.

“ZigBee standards extend the developing'smart grid' out to the billions of devices,appliances and equipment where mostenergy efficiency goals will be achieved,”said Ember chairman and Polaris PartnerBob Metcalfe. “Smart meters now beingequipped with ZigBee-standard Ember radiochips and protocol software are serving asenergy management gateways betweenutilities and consumers. Ember revenuesaccelerated in 2008 and, with the increasinginternational emphasis on energymanagement, we are preparing Ember forcontinued rapid growth in 2009.”

The market for 802.15.4/ZigBee devices isexpected to reach as high as 292 millionunits in 2012, up from about 7 million unitsin 2007, according to research firm, In-Stat.As part of the recently enacted stimuluspackage signed by US President BarackObama, over $49 billion was allocated totransform the nation’s energy system, andover $17 billion of that will be aimed atelectric grid infrastructure upgrades.

low energy wireless news

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TI supports ZigBeeAlliance plan to integrateIP standards Texas Instruments is getting behind theZigBee Alliance’s recent announcement tointegrate Internet Protocol (IP) and openstandards. The plan to incorporate global ITstandards from the Internet EngineeringTask Force (IETF) will allow continuedgrowth of smart grid applications beyondthe smart meter with the proven ZigBeeSmart Energy public application profile.“The ZigBee Alliance decision to expand itsleading wireless networking standard toincorporate IP standards will solidify andaccelerate developments and innovation ofrapidly growing smart grid applications,”said Laurent Giai-Miniet, general manager ofTI’s Low-Power RF business. “TI is a leadingsupplier in this market segment and willcontinue to invest in solutions for smartenergy. TI is also the only supplier that candeliver solutions for ZigBee in all marketsegments with ZigBee PRO, RF4CE, SmartEnergy profile and IP.”

“Our Energy Sector members have beenlooking for a coupling of ZigBee’sestablished, respected and mature wirelessstandards with native IP capabilities andIETF support,” said Bob Heile, chairman ofthe ZigBee Alliance. “This move addressesthat need and will further position ZigBee asa leading solution for a variety of smart gridefforts underway around the world.”

Heile added that the incorporation of globalIT standards from the IETF with the widerange of existing ZigBee public applicationprofiles will empower the ZigBee usercommunity to develop innovative solutionsfor wireless sensor networking devices andlink them through a scalable utility ITnetwork.

TI says that it will help in the definition anddevelopment of the new specification, willcontinue to collaborate within the technical

working groups and announce new productsfor smart grid applications.

802.15.4 set for stronggrowth The market for IEEE 802.15.4semiconductors, in both consumerelectronics and commercial markets, is setfor significant growth over the next fiveyears as the standard becomes thefoundation for a host of applications andsystems, says ABI Research.

That growth will see 802.15.4 chipsetshipments grow from nearly 15 million in2008 to nearly 499 million in 2014 — aCAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of79.6% over the period.

“Vendors across a range of industry verticalsand applications are taking advantage of theavailability of standardized 802.15.4semiconductors to build their ownproprietary and increasingly standardizedequipment and systems,” commented ABIResearch principal analyst Jonathan Collins.The firm has just released a new studyexamining the potential for 802.15.4semiconductors.

To date, the 802.15.4 market has grownsteadily, based on proprietary point-to-pointsolutions and some ZigBee-based AMIinfrastructure trials. Now 802.15.4 is also setto underpin a new generation of consumerelectronics remote control solutions,developed by the RF4CE Consortium andrecently rolled into the ZigBee Alliance. Inaddition, AMI trials and a growing interest insmart energy and utility managementheralds a move towards full-scale smartenergy solution rollouts.

While 802.15.4 will help drive broaderstandardization, the low-level nature of thephysical and MAC layer specification willcontinue to provide a lower cost buildingblock for many proprietary applications that

can be hosted on 802.15.4 silicon. In factwhile industry standard adoption will fostersignificant growth, proprietary markets willcontinue to account for the bulk of the marketthrough 2014 although their dominance willrecede greatly over the period.

Ember and ARM targethigh performanceZigBee networks Ember’s soon to be introduced, next-generation ZigBee semiconductors willutilize the ARM Cortex-M3 processor, theaim being to boost performance and lowpower consumption. Ember licensed theCortex-M3 processor to deliver solutions forapplications such as Smart Energy, homearea networks, home health care andsecurity systems.

The 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 processorbrings together multiple technologies toreduce memory and processor size andprovides a platform to accelerate themigration of applications to 32-bitmicrocontrollers.

“The Cortex-M3 processor, along with theindustry’s leading tools ecosystem, deliversthe higher performance required for moresophisticated applications while retaininglow-power leadership,” said Eric Schorn,vice president marketing, processordivision, ARM.

Ember CEO, Bob LeFort added: “ZigBeeapplications are becoming increasinglydemanding and a critical component insolving some of the most vexing problemsof our time, such as managing energy moreeffectively, and we intend to be at theforefront of that revolution. ARM is theacknowledged leader in processortechnology, as Ember is in wireless meshnetworking technology, so ours is a naturalalliance to lead the blossoming ZigBeemarket into the future.”

low energy wireless news

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NFC Forum GlobalCompetition 2009Announces Winners The NFC Forum has announced the winners ofthe NFC Forum Global Competition 2009previously reported in Incisor. The winningentries were named at an awards ceremonyheld on the 23rd of May at WIMA in Monaco.Sadly, our invite must have gone missing in thepost!

In the competition, developers in a CommercialTrack vied for the honour of having theirsolutions named “The Best NFC Service of theYear 2009,“ while a Research Track recognized“The Most Innovative NFC Research Project ofthe Year 2009.“ First-, second-, and third-placewinners in each track were chosen by a jurycomposed of professionals and experts fromacademia and sponsoring companies.

The winners were selected from 20 finalists,who were selected earlier from 52 entries from21 countries and four continents. Thecompetition finalists demonstrated their entriesat the Global NFC Business & TechnicalDevelopers Summit taking place this week atWIMA. Winners in each track were awardedcash prizes. First-place winners received 5000euros, second-place 1500 euros, and third-place 1000 euros.

The first-place winner in the Commercial Trackwas Interactive Research & Development ofPakistan, for "Interactive Alerts for ChildhoodPneumonia," which is a real-time patienttracking and referral system for use in low-resource settings. The system is currently beingused for a pneumonia surveillance study inyoung children in Karachi, Pakistan. Thesecond-place winner was Servtag of Germany,for "Friendticker.com," an NFC-based mobilesocial ticker that allows users to share theiractual locations with friends by touchingFriendticker NFC stickers in restaurants andbars. Third place went to Nordea of Finland forits NFC-based strong end-user authenticationsolution for online banking, which enables

secure access to an online banking site via anNFC-enabled handset and a dual-interface bankcard.

The first-place winner in the Research Trackwas VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland,for "Hot in the City," a mobile social mediaservice that uses NFC-enabled mobile phonesas a friend connection platform. The Universityof Ljubljana (Slovenia), Faculty of ElectricalEngineering was awarded second place for"Touch to Communicate," which allows aconsumer who has difficulty communicating tomanage phone calls with a simple touchbetween a mobile device and passive electronictags. The third-place prize went to ETH Zurichof Switzerland for the "APriori" NFC-basedmobile application, which supports consumerpurchasing decisions by interacting with taggedproducts to deliver point-of-sale productratings.

NFC technology takesits next step with theNokia 6216 classic At the opening keynote of the 3rd annual WIMAconference, held at the Grimaldi Forum inMonaco, Nokia announced its third fullyintegrated Near Field Communication (NFC)device, the Nokia 6216 classic. The new arrivalis Nokia's first SIM-based NFC device. Thisenables operators to build NFC services on tothe SIM card. Nokia suggested that with NFC,consumers will benefit from greater ease of use,more convenient sharing of content - such asimages, weblinks, audio files or contact data -as well as secure payment and ticketingtransactions, all with just one tap of the device.

Nokia’s head of near field communicationsJeremy Belostock commented: "The Nokia6216 classic will be amongst the firstcommercial devices in the market complyingwith operator requirements using the SIM cardin connection to secure transactions with NearField Communications. With the Nokia 6216classic in your pocket and the ticketing

applications on the SIM you can replace themultitude of cards in your wallet. Having theapplications on the SIM consumers can bringtheir secure applications to their next Nokia NFCenabled phone."

Owner's credit card information can be storedsecurely on the SIM card and waving the devicein front of a contactless terminal enables quickpayment and simple ticketing services.

In addition to the NFC technology, the Nokia6216 classic has regular phone features such as adigital camera, stereo FM radio and music player,3G connectivity and a microSD slot which isexpandable up to 8GB.

The Nokia 6216 classic is expected to startshipping in the third quarter of 2009 in selectmarkets with an estimated retail price of EUR 150before taxes and subsidies.

Sirit and Stollmanncooperate on NFC Stollmann, which supplies protocol software forcommunication, has joined forces with RFIDtechnology provide Sirit Inc. to work together tobring a combined solution for Near FieldCommunication (NFC) products to the globalmarket.

This single source solution makes available thecombination of the NFCStack+ and JSR257 fromStollmann, and custom firmware designs,applications and NFC drivers and libraries fromSirit. In addition, both companies will provideengineering services for application developmentand software integration surrounding theirsolution.

Sirit and Stollmann, both members of the NFCForum, told Incisor that they have solutions readyto use for mobile handsets and PC-basedapplications, plus NFC modules with integratedstack software. While offering a completesoftware suite, the two companies aim to provideclose support for customers in the USA andGermany.

DATE EVENT LOCATION NOTES LINK

May 11 - 13 2009 Near Field Royal Garden Hotel, - http://www.terrapinn.com/2009/nfcw/Communicatoin London, U.K.World Europe 2009

June 8 - 11 2009 ZigBeeexpo Santa Clara, - http://www.zigbeeexpo.com/2009/California, USA

June 8 - 12 2009 Bluetooth SIG Bangkok, Thailand - https://www.bluetooth.org/Events/UnPlugFest 33 sig_events.htm#DevelopersConf

June 15 2009 IEEE International Dresden, Germany - http://www.ieee-icc.org/Conference on Communications

June 30 - July 1 European ZigBee Munich, Germany - http://www.elektroniknet.de/home/termine/Developers foren/3rd-european-zigbee-developers-Conference conference/

Sept 1 - 3 2009 4G Wireless Los Angeles, - http://www.wi-fi.org/events_overview.Evolution California, USA php?id=227Conference

Oct 5 - 9 2009 Bluetooth SIG Stuttgart, Germany - https://www.bluetooth.org/Events/UnPlugFest 34 sig_events.htm#DevelopersConf

Oct 7 - 9 2009 CTIA Wireless I.T. San Diego Convention - www.ctiawireless.com& Entertainment Centre, San Diego, 2009 California, USA

www.incisor.tv25

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