The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has launched the Bluetooth Developer Portal to form a programmer resource supporting application design that integrates with this low energy connectivity technology and helps developers create applications using standardized Bluetooth data profiles.

Supported by a series of free training webinars to provide practical training on Bluetooth application (and device) design and implementation, the new portal arrives on the back of last year's launch of Bluetooth v4.0, which resulted in the production of a new range of Bluetooth Smart devices.

NOTE: The Bluetooth Core Specification v4.0 details the Bluetooth Core System as consisting of an RF transceiver, baseband, and protocol stack. The system offers services that enable the connection of devices and the exchange of a variety of classes of data between these devices. Many features of the core specification are optional, allowing product differentiation.

"Because Bluetooth technology is a cross-platform global standard, the opportunity for app developers is bound only by their imagination," said Michael Foley, Ph.D, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. "The Bluetooth Developer Portal aims to help unleash some of this creativity. For example, SIG member company Wahoo Fitness already has more than 80 smartphone applications that work with the company's heart rate monitor. This is just one device. Imagine the possibilities when you consider there are seven billion Bluetooth devices."

"With 16,000 members and five million Bluetooth enabled products shipping daily, the ubiquity of our ever-growing network of devices is what separates Bluetooth technology from other wireless technologies," said Suke Jawanda, chief marketing officer at the Bluetooth SIG. "Now, with the launch of our Developer Portal we expect to see more innovative products and applications from our members, adding new functionality to the gadgets we use daily and making them better with Bluetooth technology."