IrSimple - is it going to be really that simple?

The diligent developers at IrDA have come up with a new standard that will address most of the complaints about IrDA 1.0, SIR, MIR, FIR, and the alphabet soup. And have called it IrSimple.

Simple to use - you can point any virtually anything that is IrSimple and press a button - and it works.
I say 'vitrually' because it is not clear yet if there are any incompatibilities when real products are produced. And if there are any exceptions, then this will again be a big disappointment because once again there will be products that will be called IrSimple, but not really work - I really hope not!

Anyway, the good news is IrSimple will be 16 Mbps - that is 4 times faster than IrDA FIR! It means we can realistically beam an MP3 file and not have to wait 5 minutes and more!

Unless the Bluetooth SIG has been working secretly for a while, it does not seem they have a high speed version of their well known standard yet.

In addition, the IrDA folks have also agreed that this function can be implemented as a single button push, much like how your remote controller works - and I understand some products will even have its own hardware button on the product. So no more clicking through the menus to find the IrDA function to switch on and then click through to find the file to beam! Hurray! This alone will significantly increase the user awareness of IrDA in any product.

Get more information about IrSimple at the IrDA website: http://www.irda.org

Can I have that picture you just took?

SCENARIO: You just took a picture of your friends at a restaurant on a farewell dinner on your camera. And of course, you are not going to see each other for 6 months. So, when your friend asks: "Can I have that picture you just took?" what would you do?

Yesterday's answer: "Sure, I'll send it to your new address as soon as I develop it."

Today's answer can be: "Sure, I'll bluetooth it to your phone." This is because the camera you used is a camera phone with Bluetooth enabled. Sometimes you may even hear "Sure, let me beam it to your phone" - implying the infrared (IrDA) capability.

However, both answers today are very rare - in spite of what the developers of Bluetooth or IrDA tell you. Users just are not that ready to take the leap yet to transfer photos from one phone to another. Why?

• Is it because they have tried to do it and found the transfer too slow?
• Is it because they are aware of the function and tried to use the capability but cannot find it on the phone?
• Is it because they are not aware of the function - and so have not tried it at all?
• Is it because they have no need for the transfer, even with Bluetooth and IrDA present?

If the answer is in the first two questions, then the solution is a technical one.
If the answer is in the last two questions, then the solution is a marketing one.

For Bluetooth, the awareness is relatively higher but their issue is the transfer rate is too slow.

For infrared, IrDA has developed a faster version called IrSimple, but the awareness of IrDA functionality by end users continues to be a big problem. Companies in Japan have already launched IrSimple products, but the rest of the world is still hesitant.