We know you're not really down with digesting any more catchphrases, but the technology formerly known as Ultra Low Power Bluetooth / Wibree is now being dubbed Bluetooth low energy. Now that we're clear on nomenclature, you may be thrilled to know that CSR showcased its recently unveiled BlueCore7 dual mode (Bluetooth low energy and Bluetooth v2.1) chip at a Bluetooth SIG Medical Working Group meeting. According to onlookers, the handset was able to transfer data to another nearby mobile using just 3 frequencies rather than 32, resulting in an unquantifiable decrease in power consumption. Sounds like a winner on the surface, but we have this weird feeling that mass adoption of this tech is like, years away.

UK's CSR has been making waves in the Bluetooth and eGPS waters, so it's only fitting that it's the first to cram Bluetooth, eGPS, and FM all on one chip. The BlueCore7 silicon combines Bluetooth v2.1+EDR, ULP Bluetooth (or Wibree), eGPS (which they say works better in indoor and other non-GPS-friendly locales), and FM Tx and Rx in what they say is a major step in reducing the size, cost, and power needs of wireless devices. CSR boasts that this chip integrates "more wireless technologies on a single chip than any other product on the market." Who are we to argue? They expect to have BlueCore 7 to be available in volume starting in Q4 2008, when you'll be able to listen to FM radio on your Bluetooth headset while finding your satellite position indoors.

[Via CustomPC]

We haven't heard much about Wibree lately, but the next-gen Bluetooth standard looks to be humming along nicely, with a name change to ULP (Ultra Low Power Bluetooth) and now a dual-mode chip from CSR that supports Bluetooth 2.1 and ULP on the same silicon. The chip consumes 10 times less power than a standard Bluetooth unit while connecting, and 50 times less power during data transfer, as it's essentially a stripped down version of Bluetooth with way fewer frequencies to worry about. This dual-mode chips means we won't have to leave the superior bandwidth of Bluetooth 2.1 behind. The chip should be available in the market sometime in 2008.

[Via The Inquirer]

There's not too many deets on this just yet, but apparently, UK's CSR is getting set to showcase a technology known as eGPS (enhanced Global Positioning System, if you couldn't guess) at Mobile World Congress 2008. According to the firm, it delivers a "universal positioning capability that will not only work reliably indoors and in zero GPS signal conditions, but greatly speed time to fix in poor GPS reception areas where most handsets are used." More specifically, it can "exploit data available from the cellular network to speed GPS fixes and provide complementary, fast, and reliable location sensing when GPS signals are weak or unavailable." Best of all, the firm is hoping to add eGPS capabilities to handsets for under $1 per unit, and it's also using the stage in Barcelona to trumpet a single-chip GPS receiver with embedded Bluetooth and FM radio. Unfortunately, mum's the word on when this stuff will actually find its way into mobiles.

[Via NaviGadget]

The same folks bringing us the ultra sensitive Bluetooth / GPS hybrid chip are also looking to improve voice quality on vanilla Bluetooth headsets, and the firm has now collaborated with Dynamic Hearing to offer up a multi-microphone configuration. Available on the company's BlueCore-Multimedia platform, this VoiceField technology "uses two microphones to capture the speech of the headset user before it is lost amongst competing noise sources." Additionally, it was designed to suck down very little power and sport uber-low signal latency, and also includes acoustic echo suppression, automatic handsfree volume control, and programmable equalization in 33 frequency bands." Now, how's about making us look a bit less freakish while donning these things on our ear?

[Via Inquirer]

Considering how governments are suddenly feeling that tracking your every move, or at least providing the means for someone else to, is such a brilliant idea, it's no surprise to see the Bluetooth masters at Cambridge-based CSR buy up NordNav and Cambridge Positioning Systems. The new mishmash of companies now has consolidation on the brain, as it's developing an all-in-one microchip that will sport both Bluetooth and GPS functionality on a single module. Additionally, the chip would reportedly "drain less power and be cheaper for handset makers than having two separate chips in their devices," as both technologies would have one processor doing the work, resulting in a more efficient process. The company's CEO claimed that its combo chips would cost manufacturers "an extra dollar per chip as opposed to around $5 to $10 for putting in a current standalone GPS chip," and moreover, these devices are designed to be ultra-sensitive, giving it connection abilities indoors and in "deep urban areas" where current units fall short. Already being hit up by a few anonymous mobile producers, CSR plans to get these things shipping "during the first half of this year," and hopes to start turning a profit on them by 2008.