Mobile technology firm Nokia said on Tuesday it was introducing what it hoped would be a new industry standard for short-range wireless connections between small devices.
It said the new radio technology, to be known as "Wibree", would fit with other local linking systems, but use just a fraction of the power, allowing for smaller and cheaper applications.
That would provide radio links of up to 10 meters (30 feet) between devices like watches or sports sensors.
Nokia said it would also be easy to integrate with Bluetooth short-range radio technology, currently mostly used to connect mobile phones to devices like headsets, printers or microphones.
The Finnish-based firm said companies working with it on defining the standard are Broadcom Corp., CSR Plc, Epson and Nordic Semiconductor, as well as Amer Sports unit Suunto, and Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd.
Nokia said it expects the first commercial version to be available during the second quarter of next year.