Bluetooth swallows Wibree

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has taken over the Wibree Forum, the alliance of ultra-low-power short-range wireless broadband technology, led by Nokia. The main interest for Wibree is of course to ensure interoperability, wide and fast adoption, with the help of SIG, and become a compatible piece of the Bluetooth standard. For Bluetooth, the main interest is to reach almost immediately (about one year to adjust interoperability) new devices that were not compatible with the Bluetooth chip size, such as wristwatches, toys, or implantable medical devices. First deliveries of an initial version should be available mid next year. ABI Research forecasts a $430m market and a 800m device market by 2012 for Wibree.