Bluetooth 3.0 launches on Samsung S8500

02 February 2010

It's here and it's, oh, about eight times faster

We first reported on next-gen Bluetooth back in April, and now the first device sporting the speedier protocol has appeared.

The Samsung S8500 has this honour, though as Samsung hasn't officially announced it, few specs are known. In this day and age though, it's likely to be a 3G device, and according to Unwired View, it'll sport a 3.1-inch touch-screen with hyperbright AMOLED display and Samsung's TouchWiz interface.

Bluetooth 3.0 is theoretically capable of transfer speeds up to 24Mbps, compared to the 3Mbps we currently enjoy with Bluetooth 2.0 (though real life speeds are somewhat slower). Here's the lowdown on what Bluetooth 3.0 might actually mean to you.

Word is the phone and its new 'Toothy tech will be on display at Mobile World Congress, so keep an eye on Mobile Choice for our live MWC coverage from February 15.