Google just made Wi-Fi way better than Bluetooth — here’s how

Google just made Wi-Fi way ameliorate than Bluetooth — hither'southward how

(Epitome credit: Shutterstock)

Google has released a new app on Android devices that allows phones to connect with each other over far greater distances than Bluetooth while making it possible to ship messages to each other, or transfer large amounts of data without an cyberspace connection.

Nevertheless ,the app information technology has released is just demoing one characteristic, the ability to accurately tell how far apart two devices are from each other. The new app is chosen WifiNanScan and is mainly for developers to test, simply information technology demonstrates how the Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN) works.

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As reported by 9to5Google, this particular app is able to measure the distance between 2 devices as well as allow the telephone to be either a publisher or subscriber. This unproblematic app lets people choice which role they desire to fulfill and allows messages to be exchanged between them, too equally detecting their proximity to each other.

When a publisher starts a specific service, in this case the WifiNanScan app, they are signaling their availability to potential subscribers within Wi-Fi range. So, for example, a teacher could sit in a classroom and when a student enters the room, running say the school'southward approved app, they will be connected together and can exchange messages. They will likewise be able to create an advertisement-hoc network without using a Wi-Fi access betoken. Devices can both publish and subscribe at the same time.

Google WifiNanScan — (Prototype credit: Google )

The potential of a service similar this is quite considerable. Some of the examples given by the Wi-Fi Alliance include: being able to play a game together with friends without access to the internet or listen to music on multiple devices at once. Information technology also has potential, the group says, to provide democratic vehicles a style to communicate with each other and share crucial information. That could be useful for alerting cars to nearby accidents or hazards or simply managing traffic menstruation to reduce congestion.

Of course at that place are no doubt some ethical and security considerations to exist considered here. While the test app is certainly very clear, will that remain the case when services like this are rolled into tertiary-party apps? We'll be watching how this technology evolves closely.

Ian has been involved in technology journalism since 2007, originally writing well-nigh AV hardware back when LCDs and plasma TVs were just gaining popularity. Nearly 15 years on, he remains equally excited as ever about how tech tin can brand your life meliorate. Ian is the editor of T3.com merely has likewise regularly contributed to Tom's Guide.