The Bluetooth Special Interest Group has announced this week a plan to let the Bluetooth run over high-bandwidth Wi-Fi radios, in addition to the short-range, 1M to 3Mbps Bluetooth radios in use today.

What does that mean in English?

Primarily, that your Bluetooth devices will get a lot faster next year by taking advantage of the Wi-Fi technology already built into many gadgets.

MSNBC puts it pretty clearly;

Linking Bluetooth and Wi-Fi may make it easier and faster to transfer large amounts of music between computers and cell phones, or send pictures from a camera phone to a printer, or video from a camcorder to a TV.

Michael Foley, director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, said the first devices with the technology could be on the market in the middle of next year. The industry group behind Bluetooth, which has more than 10,000 member companies, plans to announce Monday that it is pursuing the technology and will make it available next year.

(…)

The combination devices will use the regular low-power Bluetooth radios to recognize each other and establish connections. If they need to transfer a large file, they will be able to turn on their Wi-Fi radios, then turn them off to save power after finishing the transfer, Foley said.

A whole new world’s a-coming, folks.

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We just got the news! The MoGo Mouse X54 PRO has been selected as a finalist in the Best of CES 2008 contest!! This is a huge honor, that recognizes the X54 Pro as among the best of the best on the market today.

The mouse was sponsored in the contest by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. Their director, Michael Foley, enthused; “Newton Peripherals takes advantage of Bluetooth wireless technology by putting a unique twist on familiar devices to create a truly innovative 2-in-1 product.”

If you’re at the CES, the X54 is being featured today at the ShowStoppers event.

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