Aura Communications

Bet you've never heard of them. Neither had I. But you will be hearing about them soon. Aura is taking (or at least trying to take) a bite out of Bluetooth. If you don't know what Bluetooth is, Bluetooth is a wireless standard pioneered by Motorola for use in device that need to communicate with each other in close proximity. Bluetooth uses radio frequency in a defined spectrum to accomplish connection.

Aura, on the other hand, uses a magnetic field to accomplish the same goal as Bluetoooth with some surprising advantages. Advantages include: singificantly improved battery endurance and security. Essentially the magnetic technology creates a "bubble" that extends a certain distance out and around the transmitter, while Bluetooth blasts radio frequency signal all over the place from the transmitter (this is what causes massive power drain).

Pay attention to the fact that much of the funding for the Aura team comes from Motorola Venture Partners, the investment arm of Motorola. Interesting to see Motorola potentially hedging its bets against Bluetooth . . .