If you go out shopping for Bluetooth 3.0 devices today you’ll have trouble filling a cart, but according to the Bluetooth SIG as of Q4 2010 devices packing version 4.0 of the wireless technology should be on shelves.  Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, says devices such as smartphones, headsets and computers will start to feature Bluetooth 4.0 by the end of the year, with the most notable improvement over 3.0 being a new low-energy specification that will make it more suitable for watches and other frugal gadgets.

However all the rest of the Bluetooth functionality will be present, including the ability to hybridize a WiFi connection initiated with a Bluetooth link for higher-speed transfers.  Says Foley, users shouldn’t necessarily expect significant power savings over previous versions when moving to Bluetooth 4.0; beyond the low-energy mode the rest of the profiles will use around the same amount of battery.

[via Slashdot]

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