Next-gen Bluetooth software enables wireless streaming of music

Version 5.0 Broadcom's Widcomm BTW Bluetooth software adds several features designed to simplify the interaction between PCs and other devices such as cellular phones, PDAs and printers. According to the company, it includes the widest array of Bluetooth profiles in the industry.

Because many mobile devices are constrained by size, they can't include peripherals such as printers or external speakers. With this software, end users can extend many of the functions native to the PC to other devices that support Bluetooth, allowing the PC to act as a personal connectivity hub for multiple mobile devices. This includes the ability to wirelessly stream print jobs from a cellular phone through a PC to a printer or to listen to stereo MP3 files over a desktop computer's speakers from an MP3 player or multimedia phone without the need for a cable connector.

BTW Version 5.0 also includes features that enhance more conventional Bluetooth device interactions. For example, the software enables a PC to intelligently support multiple Bluetooth radios within one device, allowing the user to decide whether to use an embedded radio or an add-on dongle for particular applications. BTW 5.0 also features support for Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) technology, which provides an almost 3X increase in throughput over non-EDR Bluetooth devices. Commercial availability of the Widcomm BTW Version 5.0 software is expected in the third quarter. More information is available at www.broadcom.com.