Bluetooth Gets Faster

t's a stepping stone, of course, until Bluetooth is firmly fitted on top of ultrawideband (UWB) radios, but until then, the trick – which it began hinting at privately late last year - should provide it with a speed boost way beyond what it can deliver today.

How does that square with Bluetooth's low power consumption characteristics? Bluetooth will only leverage Wi-Fi if it needs it, and if the technology is present in the host device. It already is, in plenty of laptops and, increasingly, mobile phones too.

If Bluetooth detects that an application wants to transmit a large quantity of data, it will be able to grab the 802.11 radio temporarily. Once the data's sent, Bluetooth lets go of Wi-Fi and goes back to its usual state.