Qualcomm Atheros Ships Bluetooth 4.0 + HS

Qualcomm Atheros introduced a Bluetooth 4.0 + HS chip for laptops and other computing devices and confirmed Acer as its first customer.


The new Qualcomm Atheros chip enables laptops to detect and connect wirelessly with Bluetooth low energy (LE) devices such as those for proximity detection and health monitoring.


The Bluetooth 4.0 + HS supports data transfer speeds of up to 24 Mbps, whereby the Bluetooth link is used for negotiation and pair establishment and the high data rate traffic is carried over a co-located 802.11g link (the "+HS" portion).

Qualcomm Atheros noted that Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) will lead to new applications beyond the typical point-to-point uses, such as phone-to-headset. For examples, laptop users might have a Bluetooth key-fob device that automatically logs-in to their notebook when they get near, and then logs them off when they walk away. A laptop might use Bluetooth to send time sync signals to alarm clocks inside the home. Or the laptop might use Bluetooth to command lost items inside the home to emit "find me" chimes. Bluetooth 4.0 laptops can also now be used to track battery power levels for a whole range of consumer electronic devices inside the home. http://www.qca.qualcomm.com