Bluetooth SIG Unveils Version 1.2 of Wireless Technology Specification.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 2003

From Bluetooth World Congress, being held this week in Amsterdam, the Bluetooth SIG today announced that Bluetooth Specification version 1.2 is in its final testing phases. The new version of the rapidly growing worldwide standard is backwards compatible with the existing v1.1 specification and includes many new features that improve the reliability and performance of wireless technologies in the unlicensed 2.4Ghz spectrum. This will ultimately result in a more robust and versatile technology for end users.

New features address security, co-existence with 802.11 systems, enhanced voice processing, user setup and improved quality of service. Additionally, the Bluetooth SIG announced the availability of working drafts to its Associate Members of two product designer Implementation Guides which will improve out-of-the-box experience.

Innovation Continues in Version 1.2 of Bluetooth Specification

Version 1.2 of the Bluetooth Core Specification was designed for developers by developers with a view toward a more positive user experience and the future wireless world. The current specification is included in over 1000 products as diverse as computer mice and mobile phones to automobiles and various computing products. Version 1.2 is not only backwards compatible with these products, but is also intended to set the stage for the development of a growing number of mainstream products such as mobile phones, headsets, PDAs, MP3 players, cameras and laptops in a consumer's Personal Area Network.

Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) is one of many new features of the specification. AFH was explicitly designed to reduce interference between wireless technologies sharing the 2.4 GHz spectrum. Cordless telephones, microwave ovens and certain Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) technologies including IEEE 802.11b generally share the same wireless frequencies as Bluetooth wireless technology. AFH works within the spectrum to take advantage of the available frequencies without limiting the Bluetooth transmission to a set of frequencies occupied by other technologies. This 'adaptive hopping' allows for more efficient transmission within the spectrum, thereby benefiting the end users with greater performance, even if using other technologies along with the Bluetooth wireless technology.

Other features of v1.2 include:

-- Enhanced Voice Processing, which will improve the quality of

voice connections, particularly in noisy environments, using

error detection methodologies.

-- Enhanced Quality of Service (QOS), which will increase the

performance of multi-point implementations where one radio can

service more than one client at one time with better traffic

management scheduling.

-- Anonymity Mode, which further increases the security of

Bluetooth wireless connections by masking the physical address

of a radio so as to prevent identity attacks and snooping.

"The adoption of wireless products continues to accelerate, and quite some time ago our members identified enhanced approaches to core radio operations that would further improve the user experience - the v1.2 of our Core Specification is a result of this foresight and hard work," said Mike McCamon, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG.

Achieving mass market consistency: mobile phone and personal computing Implementation Guides

The Bluetooth SIG today also announced the availability of Implementation Guides that recommend usage and product features for fast-moving markets including mobile phones and personal computers. Following a period of feedback from Associate members of the Bluetooth SIG, these guides will be publicly available on the trade association's website.

Implementation guides are key among over a dozen programs currently underway by the SIG to work toward the goal of a five-minute out-of-the-box experience. Based on feedback from Bluetooth members, Bluetooth SIG's implementation guides specify standard profiles and optional features to enhance interoperability for current and future implementation requirements. The guides are backed by early contributions from many mobile phone manufacturers including Nokia, SonyEricsson, Motorola, and Siemens, as well as corporate IT market leaders like Intel, Microsoft, IBM and Toshiba.

"We see the Mobile Phone Implementation Guide as a positive step to increasing the usability of Bluetooth wireless products and look forward to using this guidance in our own product development," said Markus Schetelig, Senior Manager Wireless Connectivity of Nokia Mobile Phones and co-chair of the Bluetooth SIG Inc.

About the Bluetooth SIG

Bluetooth(R) wireless technology is set to revolutionize the personal connectivity market by providing freedom from wired connections. It's is a specification for a small-form factor, low-cost radio solution providing communication between mobile computers, mobile phones and various other mobile devices - including connectivity to the Internet. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), comprised of leaders in the telecommunications, computing and network industries, is driving development of the technology and bringing it to market. The Bluetooth SIG membership includes promoter group companies 3Com, Agere, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia and Toshiba, and thousands of associate and Adopter member companies. The Bluetooth SIG Inc. headquarters are located in Overland Park, Kansas, U.S.A. For more information please visit www.bluetooth.com.