The Bluetooth 3.0 specifications detail three things Unicast connection-less data, Enhanced Power Control and Alternate MAC/PHY. The Unicast part specifies a way to send a little data without much delay and the Enhanced Power Control keeps a tighter reign on the transmitting power and makes the device a little more power-efficient.
But its the Alternate MAC/PHY section of the specifications thats interesting and also the section thats not mandatory to get a Bluetooth 3.0 certification. It allows two BT3.0-certified devices to do a handshake over a Bluetooth link and then switch to a 802.11 link to achieve speeds of up to 24Mbps.
Devices that support Alternate MAC/PHY are certified as "Bluetooth 3.0+HS" (High Speed) and ones that do not are certified as just Bluetooth 3.0 and are limited to regular Bluetooth transfer speeds.
A bit more digging reveals that Android 2.2 does not even support Bluetooth 3.0 the BlueZ library that it uses is old and works only up to Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. You can check Bluetooth support info for the other Android versions over at their dev site.
Its possible that manufacturers use a different software stack, but the transfer between the two Bluetooth 3.0 certified Samsung droids we tested was going at v2.1 speeds, so that was not it.
The Bluetooth SIG website settled any remaining doubts we had. None of the phones we checked were Bluetooth 3.0+HS certified, they support just the vanilla v3.0. This put an end to this speed test 24Mbps just was not going to happen so when you come to pick your next uber-smartphone you can safely ignore the Bluetooth 3.0 specs as long as they do not list HS explicitly.
As we say goodbye to 2010, the European Union says goodbye to un-standardized phone chargers. Its been over a year in the making, but microUSB will be the standard charger plug for European mobile phones starting next year.
The European Union first announced their plans in June last year and major phone manufacturers quickly signed the memorandum. A few others signed later on.
Currently the list includes: Nokia, Apple, Samsung, LG, RIM, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Huawei, Alcatel, NEC, Emblaze, and chip makers Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Atmel. This covers the majority of phones you'd care to buy.
Convenience is one thing to look forward to. No more carrying several chargers for each device just one will do. The switch to the microUSB standard has environmental benefits as well, as each year 4,000 tons of old, incompatible accessories get thrown out after the user upgrades.
The first phones complying with the new standard are expected to come out early next year. Of course, many phones already use microUSB for charging but from now on, if you buy a new phone from one of the signatory manufacturers you'll be guaranteed that it will charge off microUSB.
SoundHound announced free unlimited music recognition of its music search and discovery application. Until now, users of the free version of SoundHound have been limited to five music IDs per month. the new unlimited free offering is for the iOS and Android platforms ONLY and is not available for Symbian. Of course, the premium, ad-free version called SoundHound Infinity is still available.
Finally, SoundHound achievements in the past year:
- It has been a No. 1-ranked music application with global reach spanning 200 countries: No. 1-ranked music application on Apple AppStore in more than 25 geographies, best seller on Nokia Ovi Store, and top-ranked music application on Android Market.
- SoundHound mobile user base has increased by 500%, while usage has increased by 1000% with millions of hits per day.
- In a world first on mobile: Premiered a new music single by Secondhand Serenade
A leaked treatment from an in-production Dell television commercial paints a brief, but exciting picture of the rumored Dell Streak 7. The graphical outline suggests the 7-inch Android tablet from Dell will keep both the Streak branding and the naming convention of the original Dell Streak. The 7-inch tablet will also include a Gorilla glass touchscreen, built-in GPS, social networking integration, new Blio reader, and Dell Stage, a custom Android UI.The Streak will be advertised with the new "You can tell its a Dell" slogan.
This rumored Android tablet from Dell will be a worthy competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but how it will stack up to Motorola upcoming tablet remains to be seen. The Motorola tablet is expected to feature a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, a 10-inch display, and Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It ups the ante for Android tablets and may be the tablet to have when it launches in early 2011. The Streak 7 will enter the marketplace as one among many in the 7-inch category.
The Streak may compete directly with the Galaxy Tab, but the Galaxy Tab has a big head start. Earlier this month, the Galaxy Tab hit the big 1 million sold mark and is on target to reach 1.5 million by the end of the year. The Tab has excellent retail reach and is available, here in the US, from several major wireless carriers including T-Mobile, ATT, Sprint, Verizon and US Cellular. If you are looking to snag a Tab int he US, you should check out US Cellular. The wireless carrier recently discounted the Galaxy Tab to $199 after mail-in rebate and with a minimum $55 monthly data plan and two-year contract. Hypothetically, if all three tablets were available today
Our Mission is Keeping you updated with Latest Android News and Updates as it Happens!
© 2023 YouMobile Inc. All rights reserved