u‑blox Launches NINA-B3 Full-featured Bluetooth 5 Modules

Swiss company, u‑blox, specializing in wireless and positioning modules and chips, announced the launch of its full Bluetooth 5 compliant NINA-B3 wireless MCU (microcontroller unit) module. Featuring Bluetooth low energy long range connectivity, high data transfer rates and supporting Bluetooth mesh and 802.15.4, NINA‑B3 caters to applications in smart buildings, smart cities, and the Industry 4.0, including home automation systems, sensor networks, and high-quality wireless audio applications.

Nordic Semiconductor announced that Shanghai, China-based RFsen has selected Nordic’s Bluetooth 5-compatible low energy nRF52832 System-on-Chip (SoC) for its ‘BT5 Bi-Direction Audio Remote Module’. The module allows OEM manufacturers to provide bi-directional wireless audio streaming between, for example, a smart TV, set-top box, sound box or sound bar, and a user’s Bluetooth 4.0 (and later) Android smartphone or tablet.

Nordic Semiconductor released its Bluetooth 5 pre-qualified, production-ready development solution for building Bluetooth 5 qualified products using the company's nRF52832 SoC. The solution combines production-ready Bluetooth 5 software - S132 v5.0 SoftDevice and nRF5 SDK v14.0 - enabling developers to design high performance Bluetooth 5-ready products, taking advantage of increased throughput, longer range, advertising extensions and increased broadcast capacity and co-existence.

Following the announcement at CES 2017 of its Bluetooth 5-compatible nRF52 Series SoCs (nRF52832 and nRF52840 devices), Nordic Semiconductor is showing new development tools for Bluetooth 5 at Bluetooth World, the official event of Bluetooth SIG, taking place at Santa Clara Convention Center, 28-29 March, 2017. Demonstrations include the new Preview Development Kit (nRF52840-PDK) and its first Thread networking SDK.

Nordic Semiconductor in collaboration with its design partners are unveiling latest Bluetooth low energy and IEEE 802.15.4-enabled innovations at International CES 2017 in Las Vegas. The Norwegian company will demonstrate the capabilities of its Bluetooth 5-compatible nRF52 Series SoCs. Product demonstrations include contactless payment, wearables wireless charging, thread networking, voice-activated remote control, educational platforms, home automation and Bluetooth 5 enhancements.