Sybase's iAnywhere subsidiary has joined the UWB Forum and WiMedia Alliance Ultrawideband standards bodies. By joining the respective UWB standards bodies, iAnywhere will help to define standards that merge the benefits of the high data rate transfer capabilities of UWB with the maturity of the Bluetooth software protocol and application profiles, Sybase said in an official statement.

In addition, iAnywhere plans support for UWB within its mobile device solutions, which will provide device manufacturers and chip set providers with the building blocks required to bring both Bluetooth and UWB-enabled products to market quickly and easily.

“Our UWB involvement is a natural product progression for iAnywhere,” stated Nathan Pendleton, area vice president of Mobile Device Solutions at iAnywhere. “We have built a solid foundation for Bluetooth with major device manufacturers and we are excited to offer these customers additional short-range wireless technologies in the near future.”

In 2005, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced intentions to work with developers supporting the UWB Forum and WiMedia Alliance. iAnywhere has been contributing to that effort through its participation in the Bluetooth SIG’s study group. iAnywhere plans to extend its core Bluetooth protocol layers to intelligently use both Bluetooth and UWB transports simultaneously. This will provide embedded developers with the best of both wireless technologies – industry proven software and application profiles from Bluetooth and the high-data transfer rate capabilities of UWB.

At the CES Pure Wireless event, iAnywhere is demonstrating an integrated Ultrawideband and Bluetooth wireless video application communicating between two notebook computers. Bluetooth radios and iAnywhere’s enhanced protocol software will be used to automatically sense the presence of the other device and establish both a Bluetooth and UWB connection. The application determines the optimal communication path allowing rich media content such as video to be transmitted over the faster UWB hardware.


For more information about iAnywhere’s involvement in the UWB Forum and WiMedia Alliance, please visit the company’s booth at the CES Pure Wireless event, in the Twilight Room at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, January 5-8, 2006, or to learn more about its mobile device solutions visit www.ianywhere.com/mds.