UPDATE: As well as allowing the iPhone to communicate over Bluetooth, Apple’s added A2DP stereo Bluetooth support too. Say hello to streaming nirvana… oh, and expect Apple to start making Bluetooth headphones any day now.
Apple finally unleashed the power of the iPhone’s bluetooth and dock connector today. Now, instead of being limited to powering Bluetooth headsets and humdrum speaker docks, the iPhone will communicate with other devices, either wirelessly or using its dock connector.
It’s part of Apple’s iPhone OS 3.0, and promises to fuel a new generation of mobile apps. Bluetooth connections will let games and applications work in multiplayer mode without using battery-sapping Wi-Fi.
Setup is super-simple, as it uses Apple’s own Bonjour technology to avoid the hassle of pairing one iPhone with another, and it promises a new wave of multiplayer games and data-sharing apps.
But that’s not all. Apple’s also letting developers create their own accessories for the iPhone. They’ll plug into the dock connector and work with the app. It could mean the iPhone turns into a graphic equaliser for a speaker system, or hooks up to an FM transmitter, showing the frequency it’s using on screen.
Apple even says it thinks medical accessories could hook up to the iPhone. It gave the example of a blood pressure monitor that hooks up to the phone to let doctors diagnose problems on the road.
It’s absolutely huge news, and means the iPhone accessory market is about to explode.
TBC | £TBC | Apple
