Christmas Wish: an Electron with WiFi/3G and bonus.. BLE

The hardest part of that combo is the fact that you have to design an iOS or Android app to connect to your device with a Bluz module so it can then use the phones internet connection?

Do you have to build a custom phone app to get the Bluz to send data to Particle's Cloud or is there a easier way?

For bluz specifically, we have apps already that provide that connection. But ultimately, you would probably want your own app, and you could base the connection part from ours as all our code is open source.

Yes, the app is another component that the product creator has to worry about developing. But for those use cases where the app makes it easier on the customer, it could be worth it. Again, not even bluz specific, I just think the concept is valid.

Itā€™s just another option I wanted to throw out there. With unlimited data plans in many peopleā€™s pockets (at least here in the US) using that for devices that require interaction can be a valid model. Clearly it wouldnā€™t work well for systems that need to be online 24/7, but that doesnā€™t sound like your use case.

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Thanks for links.

I am keeping an open mind on all options including use of Bluz. Much more reading to do.

At this stage I am looking at the use of mobile mode to report metadata back after each session (twice per day) as it places zero requirement on patient and should be doable within the 1Mb per month although that has yet to be confirmed.

I am then looking for use of Bluetooth or Wifi to download the data directly to a PC once the device is back in the lab. Bluz and a Bluetooth connection is one option.

I will not dismiss the use of the patientā€™s phone but park it for later. It was the added overhead of developing software for the phone that initially put me off using this approach plus the fact that unlimited data plans are not as widespread in Australia, particularly in the patient population for which this device is being applied.

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