Blues announces satellite connectivity for only $49. Learn more about Starnote.

It’s been less than a year since the curtains were pulled back on Blues Wireless and we introduced a new way to tackle cellular IoT, that being the Notecard.

blues wireless system-on-module cellular notecard
As a device-to-cloud data pump with a developer-friendly JSON-based API, the Notecard has helped many IoT solutions realize the promise of cellular. From the Airnote (providing remote air quality data) to Agilix (empowering cancer patients with real-time health tracking) to AgroPatterns (industrial farm monitoring), in less than a year the Notecard has proven itself a secure, reliable, and trusted component in a wide variety of IoT deployments.

Why Cellular?

Blues Wireless was indirectly born out of the Fukushima nuclear disaster (which is a fascinating read) and the subsequent realization that cellular IoT is hard. It’s hard for developers to learn and understand archaic AT command syntax; it’s hard for businesses to invest in monthly data plans that have unpredictable pricing (or may never be used at all). Thus, the Notecard and its companion cloud service Notehub.io were created.

The advantages of utilizing cellular connectivity for the IoT are numerous:

  • Coverage: Cellular networks are ubiquitous, mature, and reliable.
  • Global Reach: There is no other network technology with the reach of cellular.
  • Security: SIM-based authentication and private VPN tunnels make cellular the most secure option.
  • Installation: Works out-of-the-box without requiring local installation or technical expertise.
  • Low/No Power: Notecard consumes ~8mA when idle; networks are still available during a power outage.

But that doesn’t mean the Blues Wireless journey starts and ends with cellular. For now let’s just say: “stay tuned” as we start to emphasize the “Wireless” in Blues Wireless in 2022 😉.

20,000,000 Events

As of this writing (October 2021), Notecards from around the world have successfully delivered more than 20,000,000 events to Notehub.io.

blues wireless data flow
The Notehub.io cloud service exists not as an end point for anyone’s data, but rather as a thin layer to:

  • Securely route data from a Notecard to any cloud, off the public Internet;
  • Optionally process and optimize data when routing;
  • Provide device and fleet management;
  • Perform remote, cloud-based, device and MCU firmware upgrades.

Unlike other providers, Blues Wireless doesn’t want to lock you into keeping your data on Notehub.io. We’d rather you experienced success by seeing your data end up where it matters:

blues wireless notehub data route to ubidots
Image credit Ubidots

Join us for 100,000,000

Here at Blues Wireless, we’re just getting started. While our primary concern is making wireless easy for developers and affordable for all, we are keenly aware of other pain points you experience. Hence the creation of the most extensible Feather-compatible MCU on the market, Swan, and the aforementioned air quality monitoring solution, Airnote.

blues wireless airnote and feather-compatible mcu swan
So join us as Notecards globally march towards delivering 100,000,000 events (or more!?) in 2022. Grab your own starter kit and join our growing community.

Happy Hacking! 👩‍💻

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