Nokia Wibree - Do we need another wireless standard?
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There are currently quite a number of wireless standards, some short range and some long range. These include infrared, Wi Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and now Wibree. It is cool carting around hands-free devices and swapping digital downloads, but I can already do that with Bluetooth. So is the Wibree a need? Or just a way for Nokia to break Swedish hegemony of wireless standards?
Consider that the current Bluetooth standard does almost everything the Wibree is supposed to do. The key word here is "almost." Also consider that the Wibree is projected to use one tenth the power that Bluetooth currently uses, and at the same time uses the same antennae and radio components, making it useful in a wider range of applications.
Just Like the Zigbee
The Zigbee (interesting how people name things) is a wireless standard supported by companies such as LG, Mitsubishi, Johnson Controls, Siemens, Philips, NEC and Samsung. According to its proponents, the Zigbee provides wireless solutions that “simply work” in terms of power conversion. It is comparable to the Wibree standard, however the Zigbee needs hardware modifications (compliant chip and router) before it can work with any device, and cannot be used with devices based on present standards such as Bluetooth (unlike the Wibree).
This makes the Wibree a timely invention, which deservedly one ups the Zigbee's efforts to complicate hardware matters, and still cuts across use in a wide number of applications.
Versus Bluetooth
Will Bluetooth disappear and be replaced by this new standard? Will users be faced with situations of hardware incompatibility, as differing standards cause confusion? And especially, why would Nokia, a member of the Bluetooth promoters group, develop a new standard which “seems” to be a direct competitor to Bluetooth?
In answering these questions, I would state that Bluetooth is a standard that has worked, but has security and compatibility problems. If Wibree can exceed expectations by not only being a lower cost alternative, but also a more secure and efficient system, it could be the replacement for the current Bluetooth standard.
According to Dr Bob Ianucci, head of Nokia Research Center, “Our aim is to establish an industry standard faster than ever before by offering an interoperable solution that can be commercialized and incorporated into products quickly.” Simply put, they want to put this standard out there and get it into widespread use faster than any one else has done before.
Bluetooth was named in 1998, has gained wide spread use, and is currently incorporated into a large number of devices. This has given Bluetooth the “fax effect.” One Bluetooth enabled device is useless, since there is no Bluetooth for it to talk to; however, once a second Bluetooth device is added, the value of the first is doubled. Nokia wants Wibree to have faster “fax effects” than any other device.
Although they also seem intent (BT that is) on optimizing the Bluetooth standard for lower power consumption by late this year (Bluetooth 2.0 perhaps) the Bluetooth special interest group (SIG) along with Nokia and CSR claim Wibree will be a complement to Bluetooth and not a direct competitor.
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