iPhone 4S a ‘Bluetooth Smart Ready’ device as Bluetooth 4.0 gets rebranded

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has announced in a press release (via MacRumors) that  ‘Bluetooth 4.0’  will now be branded as “Bluetooth Smart Ready” and “Bluetooth Smart” to create “awareness around compatibility for new devices” (such as the iPhone 4S) that support the standard.

The press release explains:

“The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced two new brand extensions to its globally recognized logo today in an effort to create consumer awareness around compatibility for new devices implementing Bluetooth v4.0 – the Bluetooth Smart Ready trademark and the Bluetooth Smart trademark. Bluetooth Smart Ready devices are phones, tablets, PCs and TVs that sit at the center of a consumer’s connected world and implement a Bluetooth v4.0 dual mode radio. Bluetooth Smart devices are sensor-type devices like heart-rate monitors or pedometers that run on button-cell batteries and were built to collect a specific piece of information. Bluetooth Smart devices include only a single-mode low energy Bluetooth v4.0 radio.”

So in other words, the “Bluetooth Smart Ready” trademark signifies a device such as the iPhone 4S, that is ready to interact with “Bluetooth Smart” peripherals such as a heart-rate monitor or smart watch. CMO of Bluetooth Special Interest Group Suke Jawanda explains further:

“Consumers can look at new Bluetooth Smart Ready devices the same way they would a 3D ready TV – having the TV is just the first part of the puzzle, you need glasses and content in order to really experience 3D. Once consumers have a Bluetooth Smart Ready device, like the new iPhone 4S, they can continue connecting to existing Bluetooth devices and are also ready to experience the new world of Bluetooth Smart peripheral devices that will carry the Bluetooth Smart logo.”

Hopefully this effort to “create consumer awareness” will encourage more manufacturers into adopting the standard for peripherals and accessories that aren’t currently taking full advantage of the 4S’s Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities