Nokia unveils new short-range wireless technology

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Mobile phone market leader Nokia unveiled a new short-range wireless connection on Tuesday that is smaller and more energy-efficient than current Bluetooth technology and can be used in devices such as watches, reports Reuters.

The new radio technology, dubbed "Wibree", can work alongside Bluetooth short-range wireless connections but use just a fraction of the power."It's up to 10 times more energy efficient than Bluetooth," Bob Iannucci, head of Nokia Research Center, told Reuters.

Nokia said it had worked five years to develop the technology and would put it through a standardisation process along with a number of other wireless technology firms. When Wibree has become a standard, the technology is available to anyone at the same reasonable terms.

"Our aim is to establish an industry standard faster than ever before by offering an interoperable solution that can be commercialized and incorporated into products as quickly as possible," Ianucci said.

Like Bluetooth used to link cell phones with headsets, computers and printers to transfer calls, calendar items, documents, songs and pictures, Wibree provides a radio link of up to 10 metres between devices.

Because of their small size and low energy consumption, Wibree radio chips will make it possible and efficient to connect phones and other electronics devices to low-power watches or sports sensors and health monitors, Nokia said it expected the first commercial version to be available during the second quarter of next year.

Nokia expects that devices currently connected by Bluetooth will get a dual Bluetooth-Wibree chip, while devices that are currently not connected will use a Wibree-only chip.Likely Wibree-devices include watches, wireless keyboards, toys and sports sensors. "This technology increases the growth potential in these market segments," Nokia said.