Low Power Bluetooth Chips Coming For Smartphones

Cambridge-based chip design company CSR is releasing its 8000 series Bluetooth chips that bridge between the current standard and low energy Bluetooth.

Low energy Bluetooth consumes around half the power of classic Bluetooth but it also has half the range and does not support audio transmissions. Its use is primarily for devices that run on the flat, cylindrical coin batteries, such as watches, pedometers and medical probes.

Wristwatch Phone Display

Tim Palmer, product manager of CSR’s handset business unit, described a possible use. He said, “You could have a smartphone in your pocket linked to a standard Bluetooth earpiece and a specially designed watch. The watch would be linked to the phone using Bluetooth low energy.

“When the phone rings, the watch would display the caller ID over the low-energy link and, should you answer the call, the standard Bluetooth would drive the sound to the earpiece,” he said.

Another example he gave was using the phone as a remote control for a TV set where, instead of displaying the programme guide on the TV screen and spoiling the viewing experience for everyone, the guide would appear on the smartphone screen.

The sound could also be different because the chips support High Definition (HD) Voice which has a wider frequency response approximately double that of current smartphone quality. Orange has just rolled out its HD Voice service and other carriers are expected to follow suit.

Another feature is improved FM radio with noise reduction. The radio is more sensitive than previous iterations and the noise reduction would be useful to clarify the signal when passing through a poor reception area.

The dual standard chips are the CSR 8811, 8511 and 8311. There also standard Bluetooth versions the CSR 8810 and 8510.

The two 881 chips are aimed at smartphones, both 851 at laptops, netbooks and tablets, and the solitary 8311 is for use in vehicles, to monitor the performance of various car parts, for example.

Palmer said that prices have not been made public because it would depend on the quantities involved. However, he added that pricing is being kept down to make the new silicon comparable to existing stock.

He could not give manufacturer names at this point but he did reveal that two companies will be releasing devices based on the chips for the Christmas market.