Is Wibree going to rival Bluetooth?

Mobile-phone-maker Nokia announced a new short-range wireless
technology, Wibree, in October 2006. With several other formats for shortrange
wireless already on the market or in development, tech pundits
questioned what niche Wibree would fill, or even if there was room for it at
all. While the long-term success of Wibree remains to be seen, it does have
several advantages over the competition, and it has been positioned as a
compliment to Bluetooth technology rather than as a competitor.
Both Wibree and Bluetooth allow devices to communicate via short-range
radio signals. Bluetooth can be used to perform a variety of tasks, including
sharing files between a PC and a PDA, downloading an address book into a
cell phone from a PC, and transmitting a signal from a remote control to a
television. The Bluetooth radio operates at 2.4 GHz, "hopping" rapidly
around different bands close to that frequency to provide security and
resistance to interference from other signals . Wibree, it turns out, will use
the same radio frequency as Bluetooth, a major advantage over
competitors. Using the same basic mechanism for wireless communication
will make it much easier for devices to build in both Wibree and Bluetooth
compatibility.
So why is Wibree a compliment to Bluetooth? It performs many of the
same functions that Bluetooth does while using far less power. Wibree
would allow for the use of wireless technology in many devices that require
long battery life. People don't want to change the battery in their wireless
keyboard or wireless-enabled watch every week, and with Wibree they
wouldn't need to. Wibree chips are also smaller than Bluetooth chips,
which would make it easier to use them in certain applications where space
is at a premium.
However, Wibree transmits data more slowly than Bluetooth -- up to 1
megabit per second, compared to Bluetooth's 3 megabits per second. It's
easy to see that Wibree can't go head to head with Bluetooth in applications
in which more bandwidth is needed.
Some potential applications of Wibree include:
l Wireless keyboards
l Wireless mice
l Electronic toys
l Medical devices, possibly implanted
l Watches
l Cell phones
l Sports sensors
The future of Wibree is complicated by the fact that existing wireless
technologies are still evolving. While Nokia is likely hoping that Wibree
will be completely integrated into Bluetooth at some point, developers are
working to reduce the power draw of Bluetooth devices. If Bluetooth can
work under low power, that pretty much invalidates the need for Wibree.
Specific details on Wibree's power consumption are not yet available --
Nokia's 2006 unveiling was a preliminary announcement.. Wibree-enabled
devices should hit the market in the next few years.

By the way, if you're wondering where they got the name Wibree, Nokia
hasn't offered any information, but it could be related to the name of
another wireless technology that is in direct competition with Wibree:
Zigbee.