[Galaxy Note II General] oalex:
BT LE

I find it interesting, how everyone of you decided to ignore Bluetooth LE (aka Bluetooth Low Energy).

I am sure a little over half the people here dont do any sport or outdoor activities, but the rest does.

Dont you know of the hundreds of apps out there that are great for: Bike, walk, jug, hike, fitness, etc. that have BT LE transmitters. Its slowly becoming the standard (ANT+ is an alternative, but as even Sony Xperia has dropped support its not going anywhere).

Anyway for those not up to date, yes you have Bluetooth 3.0 and even 4.0, but "LE" is quite different. 3.0 and 4.0 only enhances transmission speed and stuff like that. Not really affecting battery consumptions, hence you have most (even 2013 headsets) coming out with BT 2.1 and 3.0.

BT LE is quite different, its all about energy (battery) consumptions.

An example, I am sure you have all seen or touched a Hearth rate monitor belt aka HRM belt. Ones that you wear across the chest and it wirelessly transmits data to whatever it is connected to (like the computer on your bike or the display of your treadmill in your favorite fitness club).

A lot of these use private patents like, Polar Wind (TM), or the earlier mentioned ANT+. Some tried with BT which would make it universal. However problem was that BT devices lasted about 50 hours per battery, which is very short. That means you needed to change the battery very often.

Here is where BT LE comes in, it can do stuff like ANT+, like one way transmission, which is very low energy. You do not need to do any receiving of data if you are a HRM belt do you? So with BT LE the battery life is many times that of and basic BT device. Example BT HRM battery change is neede every 4 weeks, then BT LE HRM is every 6 months.

A lot of sensors out there are availably with BT LE (up till now a domain of iphones only): like Bike; Speed/Cadence/Power sensors. Iphones have had BT LE since 4S and up. Hence you might see ads like this one: http://www.amazon.com/60beat-BLUE-Heart-Monitor-iPhone/dp/B0096DM3ES/ref=pd_sbs_sg_8

http://www.amazon.com/Wahoo-Fitness-Heart-Monitor-iPhone/dp/B006NZH0TU/ref=pd_sbs_sg_5

Claming that the device is Bluetooth yet only connects to the said iphones. Well, the reason behind this is the simple fact that customers where having difficulty understanding the difference between BT 4.0 and BT LE as both were claimed to be latest tech. So manufacturers of BT LE transmitters simple decided to mentioned that only the above mentioned iphones are compatible and save them self the hassle of explaining why one bluetooth is not connecting with the other.

Look up apps like the one below to see what these can do. These apps already work with Android, but with BT LE GNote3 they can use a much wider range of devices. And longer lasting too:

Edomondo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.endomondo.android.pro

STRAVA: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.strava

Sports Tracker: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stt.android

My Tracks: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.maps.mytracks

Runtastic: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.runtastic.android.pro2

IpBike: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iforpowell.android.ipbike

.

just to mention a few.

You can have your GNote3 in your bag and have it log your bike rides and/or fitness exercises for your to analyze, store, etc.

P.S: Some might bring up the fact that S4 specs did report BT LE on-board. However that was/is some HW/Driver trouble that Samsung couldn't iron-out which practical rendered the it useless.