On Power and Throughput Tradeoffs of WiFi and Bluetooth in Smartphones

This paper describes a combined power and throughput performance study of WiFi and Bluetooth usage in smartphones. The study reveals several interesting phenomena and tradeoffs. The conclusions from this study suggest preferred usage patterns, as well as operative suggestions for researchers and smartphone developers. Smartphones are quickly becoming the main computing and (data) communication platform. These days, smartphones are all equipped with Bluetooth and WiFi, which complement their cellular communication capabilities. Bluetooth was originally placed in mobile phones for personal-area communication, such as wireless earphones, synchronization with a nearby PC, and tethering.