Ericsson Unveils First Embedded WAP Bluetooth Technology

Ericsson has taken the wraps off an embedded Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP) server that has Bluetooth personal area
network (PAN) technology featured as standard.

The development is a key one for both WAP and Bluetooth users, as it
means that the raft of WAP-equipped mobiles with Bluetooth facilities
expected early next year will soon have a real server to access.

Using Bluetooth technology in parallel with WAP is an important
development, Newsbytes notes, since it means that a mobile handset or
advanced smartphone can automatically access a server resource - using
Bluetooth channels - whenever it is within range.

Then, when the user wishes to view the relevant WAP data, they can
view the pages on a WAP-enabled device, downloading more data at high
speed - around 1 megabit per second - across Bluetooth channels,
rather than waiting for the relatively pedestrian speeds that wireless
networks normally support.

Ericsson says that the embedded WAP Server will soon allow original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to add both WAP and Bluetooth
connectivity to products such as TVs, VCRs, DVDs and set-top boxes.

Other possible applications, the telecommunications vendor says,
include local information points, cars, locks for homes, and garage
door openers.

Equally importantly, Ericsson adds that using the embedded WAP server
in a Bluetooth device makes it possible to implement WAP in a small
and low cost device.

All the software needed for Bluetooth wireless technology, WAP and the
application can be executed by a single component such as the Ericsson
Bluetooth module, the firm says.

Ericsson's Web site is at http://www.ericsson.com.