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	News From the Bluetooth World Congress

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Unfortunately we were unable to make it to Amsterdam for the 2003 Bluetooth World Congress this week, but that doesn't mean we won't be reporting on the news. Here's some of the announcements from the first day:

Bluetooth Version 1.2 Officially Launched

The Bluetooth SIG used the opening day of the Bluetooth World Congress to officially introduce the next version of the Bluetooth specification. Version 1.2 has the following major features:

	Adaptive Frequency Hopping. This allows better interoperability with other systems sharing the same 2.4GHz, such as Wi-Fi. Adaptive frequency hopping means that the Bluetooth radio will select the channels that have the least interference. At the same time, this means that the Bluetooth device will cause less interference to the other system.
	Improved Audio. The audio profile has been improved to reduce background noise.
	Anonymity Mode. Will add additional security to Bluetooth connections by masking the physical address of a radio to help prevent identity attacks (spoofing) and snooping.
	Enhanced Quality of Service (QOS). This will increase the performance of multi-point implementations where one Bluetooth device services multiple clients at the same time by offering better traffic management scheduling.
	Backward compatibility. Version 1.2 is backward-compatible with Bluetooth Version 1.1. This means that you will be able to use new produces with your existing Bluetooth hardware.

CSR Announces Telematics Deal with BMW

While other car makers have announced Bluetooth hands-free options for upcoming model years, this announcement is the first we've seen to include a GSM phone module in the car. CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio) says that BMW will be using their BlueCore technology with a built-in GSM phone and an in-car rechargeable Bluetooth headset. Personally, I think that the big advantage of in-car Bluetooth is the ability to use any Bluetooth enabled mobile phone with the system. It will be interesting to see if the BMW design will be popular with consumers.

CSR, TI and Philips All Announce New Bluetooth Chipsets

These three leading Bluetooth chipset makers all announced new integrated chipsets that provide the Bluetooth radio, and baseband in one package. The new chipsets provide higher level profile functionality than previous models. This will simplify the design of Bluetooth enabled products and more importantly, help manufacturers with interoperability issues. These chipsets are in answer to the Bluetooth SIG's call for “five minutes to setup” for end users of Bluetooth products.

Qualcomm and Broadcom Announce Development Agreement

Qualcomm, the leading developer of CDMA technology and Broadcom, a leading wireless chipset manufacturer announced an agreement to cooperate to jointly develop, promote and market Bluetooth solutions for CDMA mobile phones. We are pleased to hear about this announcement since CDMA currently enjoys a huge market share for mobile phones in the USA. Promotion of by Qualcomm can only help the market for Bluetooth technology.

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