Do bluetooth smart (4.0) provide the same services as plain old Bluetooth?

Question

What I want to ask is - Will a BLE device be able to answer calls, play music, etc... or that Bluetooth 4.0 is intended for a kind of NFC alternative?

Answer 1

Bluetooth Low Energy is part of the Bluetooth 4.0 specification. Bluetooth 4.0 includes Classic Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy and Bluetooth High Speed.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) uses a different radio protocol with fewer, wider channels and a lower transmission rate and power than Bluetooth Classic (although it uses the same frequencies) and most importantly it implements a different set of profiles.

Classic Bluetooth has profiles such as Serial Port Profile (SPP) and Handsfree Profile (HFP) while the most commonly used profile in BLE is the Generic Attribute profile (GATT). This profile allows for the transfer of small amounts of data at relatively low speeds and is not suitable high-bandwidth time-critical applications such as audio streaming.

Dual-mode Bluetooth chipsets that support Classic Bluetooth and BLE are available although often they can only operate in one mode at a time. Many BLE chipsets are BLE only, however as it reduces cost and complexity.

The short answer is that BLE can't support the classic Bluetooth functions you described.

Answer 2

Bluetooth 4.0 has all backwards compatibility with it's older versions. BLE is a form of connect using low energy technology. BLE = Bluetooth Low energy. They are different technologies with different proposes. BLE tend to be used in heart rate monitors, bike computers, medicinal applications and etc. Whenever the power supply is limited. BLE intent is not for headsets and similar devices. That's why you see on phone specifications Bluetooh 4.0 + BLE (or LE). Bluetooh is a technology, BLE is a 'protocol of communication'