Personal-area networks (PAN) – very short-range networks spanning distances of typically less than two meters – are proliferating as more and more personal electronic products link to cell phones and to each other.

Mention Bluetooth and the first thing that a non-engineer thinks of are the wireless earphones that seem to sprout from nearly every smartphone user's ears.

There is hardly a consumer product today that does not have one or more wireless interfaces. Cell phones typically add Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® radios.

Wireless networks are becoming the default connectivity option for embedded systems as well as for mobile/portable devices.

While proprietary communications hardware and protocols can be defined for custom or secure applications, most of the time design engineers use hardware blocks to implement standards or protocols.

A review of Ultra-Low-Power Bluetooth capabilities along with products from Texas Instruments and Panasonic.