Bluetooth to Combine With Wi-Fi

Bluetooth companies plan to combine the technology with Wi-Fi to increase speed, an industry group said. The combination could facilitate the speedy transfer of large amounts of data—like music, pictures, or video—between devices, like your laptop and cellphone. The first products with the combined technology should be available in the middle of next year, reports AP.

While some devices already use both technologies, they run off separate chips. The new products would likely use single chips that combine both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The industry group said all major Bluetooth chipmakers are taking part in the project. The group still backs ultra-wideband, another technology Bluetooth makers planned to use but that has taken longer to pefect than expected. (More Bluetooth stories.)