Not long ago, I thought that Bluetooth, especially Bluetooth LE, was going to be the answer for all manner of connected devices. I thought that Bluetooth would mean the end of ANT+, ZigBee, Z-Wave, and other protocols. The war currently going on between my Bluetooth devices is making me wonder.
My iPhone 5s (and other iPhones before it) happily communicated using Bluetooth with the hands-free phone feature in my Nissan LEAF (and earlier, in my Toyota Prius). Then, I started wearing my Pebble smartwatch regularly. I noticed that occasionally my car would give a warning that it had lost connection to my phone. And the Pebble would sometimes indicate that my iPhone was inaccessible. Sometimes my calls would be over the car’s speaker/microphone and other times my iPhone. All that was annoying, but I did not worry too much about those skirmishes.
Since then, however, the battle seems to have spilled over to my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse so that they occasionally lose connection to my notebook. Once I started playing with Google Glass, full-fledged war broke out. I feel like a peace negotiator in the Middle East. Each new Bluetooth device causes an even broader conflict that I have to quell. To try and keep things under control, I’ve taken to disabling Bluetooth on devices whenever I don’t need them.
I concede that these problems may be unique to me and the particular devices I am using. I also realize that blaming these problems on Bluetooth is a bit like trying to blame the Middle East conflict on one particular party. However, the devices I’m using are not rare, and I don’t think I’m the only one experiencing such problems. In fact, I have spoken with other folks who’ve seen similar issues, at least on a smaller scale.
I expect the problem to get worse before it gets better. I’m almost afraid to try out my Mio ALPHA or Mio LINK Bluetooth-enabled heart-rate monitors. What if I get the Samsung Bluetooth-controlled LED lights? Or…well, you get the idea. The Internet of Things is only going to make things worse. Possibly much worse.
I think there are solutions, but the device manufacturers and software vendors have got to start thinking about their products in a world with lots of other competing devices. One possibility would be that after initial configuration, the devices need to be less aggressive about searching for other devices. Or there needs to be some better way of negotiating, rather than just taking, control.
Also, the master devices, like a phone, tablet, or PC, need to know how to prioritize among devices. For example, my iPhone should know that I prefer to use my car’s microphone and speaker when I am in it rather than the Google Glass (which is probably in my briefcase while driving).
If the vendors can work in that direction, then rather than living through Bluetooth wars, we’ll just have to deal with occasionally arbitrating Bluetooth peace talks.
