Bluetooth 4.0 To Reach Devices In Fourth Quarter

angry tapir writes "The Bluetooth 4.0 wireless specification could start to appear in devices such as headsets, smartphones and PCs by the fourth quarter, said the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. The new specification will be able to be used in lower-power devices than previous versions of the technology, including watches, pedometers, smart meters and other gadgets that run on coin-cell batteries."

Time to retire IR for remotes

[Darth Sdlavrot]

My brand new TV and Blueray player still use IR remotes -- essentially the same tech as was used in the TV and VCR I bought 25 years ago - and it still sucks hind tit.

We've had BT for years now -- it's time for manufacturers to join the 21st century.

Re:Time to retire IR for remotes

[baka_toroi]

I once posted about that (Not in Slashdot) and someone told me it wouldn't be feasible, because of the time it takes to do the pairing and because you'd have to have a constant link between the devices, even if the TV is off (because you wouldn't be able to turn it on). Please, someone with more knowledge, enlighten us.

Re:Time to retire IR for remotes

[HopefulIntern]

This is why I use my PS3 for media. Then I can cuddle up in my sleepingbag and still have full control from within toasty goodness.

So

[gadzook33]

Does this mean we'll finally get a decent pair of bluetooth headphones?

Re:Wireless mouse

[gEvil (beta)]

To be fair, having wireless keyboards and mice that show up to the host system as plain old USB HID-compliant devices means there's generally one less thing to have to troubleshoot in case there are problems. Not to mention that you can use them to access the BIOS -- something you can't do with Bluetooth because the Bluetooth stack/driver haven't been loaded yet.

Re:Time to retire IR for remotes

[ircmaxell]

Or even easier. Have a small circuit in the TV that listens to bluetooth frequencies without actually decrypting it. When it detects an active signal, then have it power the full bluetooth module on for a few seconds. It powers on and tries to pair with the device. If it can pair, then it goes into "control" mode (with something like a 30 second timeout). If it can't, it goes back to sleep. Then, on the remote, you only need to enable bluetooth once you press a button. So when you press the power button, the remote first wakes up its bluetooth module, then attempts to pair with the tv. If it can pair, it then sends the "power on" signal to the tv. If it can't pair, it flashes a light or displays a message that "can't communicate with TV"... The whole process should be fast enough for most consumers (and it would only affect the power on of the TV, so even a 1 second delay would likely be tolerable).