CTIA: Bluetooth SIG Announces Bluetooth 2.1+EDR

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group has unveiled a new version of the
Bluetooth radio standard. Bluetooth 2.1+EDR is an upgrade to the 2.0
currently used in high end phones, but several new key features have
been added to increase security and improve device pairing.

The biggest
addition is compatibility with NFC (Near Field Communication)
technology to aid in
pairing by simply holding the two NFC compatible devices together
without needing to input a passkey.

Reducing the number of
pairing steps
to three:
(1. Turn on Bluetooth 2.1 device and phone. 2. Add Bluetooth
device to phone menu. 3. Both devices are paired.)

Generating a
random six character password using algorithmic encryption for increased
security with other 2.1 compatible headsets, as well as other features of the new
standard including background search/device pairing,
and reduced power consumption by a factor of five in some
devices.

Bluetooth
2.1+EDR Intro (Bluetooth SIG)