It'll change your life

Bluetooth, once trumpeted as the ultimate convenience, quickly proved a headache with plenty of pairing problems and inexplicable connection snafus. Bluetooth 4.0, the newest version of the innovation, is about to change all that.

The bad Bluetooth repI personally use Bluetooth daily

The bad Bluetooth repI personally use Bluetooth daily, and love it. My trusty LG BHS-700s works like a charm. For others, but, living with this innovation can be frustrating. Often users are asked to enter annoying passwords earlier linking devices, and sudden reception drops or other software glitches make Bluetooth feel more painful than fun.

Honestly I believe the bad old days of Bluetooth are behind us, especially with Bluetooth 4.0, AKA Bluetooth Smart Ready, on the edge of mass adoption. Already available in the Motorola Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx smartphones plus Apple's iPhone 4S, Bluetooth 4.0 is expected to hit more handsets and all manner of accessories this year.

The upcoming Basis Band will use the older Bluetooth 2

While the upcoming Basis Band will use the older Bluetooth 2.1 spec, the Nike FuelBand and Motorola MOTOACTV are Bluetooth 4.0 compliant right out of the box and sync fitness data with smartphones to record workouts in the background. I imagine Fitbit as well plans to integrate Bluetooth 4.0 into its products down the road. Its Wireless Trainer already communicates with a PC-tethered base station to accomplish the same task.

One-tap hookupAnother convenience newer forms of Bluetooth brings is compatibility with NFC chips. Both Bluetooth versions 3.0 and 4.0 can talk to NFC hardware in phones and laptops to make pairing a simple process of tapping the two devices at the same time. So you can imagine configuring Wi-Fi settings on mobile gadgets just by resting them on NFC equipped routers or hooking up headsets withtablets and phones in the same manner. For instance, Motorola's new Elite Sliver headset already has this NFC pairing ability. Frankly the idea setting up a gadget this fast gives me goosebumps.

Branding breakdownOne area where Bluetooth 4.0 doesn't sound so simple is branding. Broken out in Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready, devices with the research will feature either of these logos. To clarify, Bluetooth Smart Ready products are in essence connected devices which typically have persistent Internet ties and robust power supplies, be it a smartphone, laptop, or router. Bluetooth Smart devices are the data collectors or accessories that link to Smart Ready units to transfer information periodically and strive to preserve battery life in the field. As well important is that Bluetooth Smart Ready devices are backwardly compatible with older hardware, for the moment on a basic level. Here's a chart to help figure out how everything works.

All ears for Bluetooth techIn a nutshell, If the current spec for Bluetooth looks pretty slick. If it can as a matter of fact deliver on the touted performance, the phone accessory market is set to heat up shortly, making last year's buzz word "appccessory" seem a woefully inadequate descriptor. I for one can't for all the new toys to come my way.

Brian Bennett is senior editor for mobile phones at CNET. When he's not juggling five different handsets straightway, or installing a new Android ROM on his old T-Mobile HTC HD2, he's daydreaming of how to brew his then and there batch of beer and update his home theater system on the cheap.

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The latest communications research news on CNET News

Check out the latest communications research news on CNET News, featuring the latest on cell phones, mobile gear, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), and Internet access via broadband and wireless connections.