Finally: A truly magical iPad

Computerworld - Everybody's excited about the new Apple iPad's high-resolution screen. But ultimately, the Retina display is just a pretty face. It can't do anything that the screens on previous models couldn't do.

In fact, just about all of the features that are considered "new" in the new iPad are really just bigger helpings of the old capabilities: More pixels on the screen. More graphics performance. More megapixels in the camera. More megabits per second with the mobile broadband connection. There's more of everything. But what's fundamentally different?

One of the least appreciated new features is one that truly brings entirely new capabilities to the iPad. That feature is Bluetooth 4.0 support.

One common complaint about Apple's mobile devices by fans of alternatives, such as those based on Google's Android operating system, is that Apple is slow to include new technologies. And it's true. In fact, Apple's industrial design chief, Jonathan Ive, told a British newspaper this week that Apple's competitors don't succeed like Apple does because they're too "interested in doing something different, or want to appear new." Those are the wrong goals, he said.

In other words, new technology isn't a goal at Apple. Yet the new iPad is the first tablet that supports Bluetooth 4.0. Similarly, the iPhone 4S was the first major smartphone to support Bluetooth 4.0.

Why is Apple so much more aggressive than other companies with this particular technology?

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology that's been around for years. Most people associate it with loudmouths at Starbucks who use Bluetooth headsets to have personal conversations for all to hear.

But the new Bluetooth can do so much more than connect a clunky earpiece. Bluetooth 4.0 isn't just a little better than the version currently built into most mobile devices. It's massively better.

Bluetooth 4.0 has an extremely low-energy feature, which means supporting gadgets can run off wristwatch batteries, or hold charges for years, rather than weeks. For example, Bluetooth 4.0 enables wireless headsets that last weeks between charges. And it means that headsets can be a fraction of the size.

Wireless iPad keyboards don't have to be charged at all for the life of the iPad, thanks to Bluetooth 4.0.

Another magic trick Bluetooth 4.0 performs is that it allows pairing and data exchange without user involvement. If the user has granted permission in advance, two Bluetooth 4.0 devices can connect and sync data without even informing the user, just by being in range.

Bluetooth 4.0 also, ironically, even simplifies the connection of Wi-Fi devices. Right now, adding a Wi-Fi gadget often requires users to hand-enter configuration information. To oversimplify, Bluetooth 4.0 enables new Wi-Fi devices to get configuration information automatically; instead of asking the user, Bluetooth 4.0 enables devices to communicate configuration information with each other. The only user involvement required is permission.