Connecting an iPhone to an XBee module
I'd like to use an iPhone to monitor output from a remote source using an XBee modem (or other low power wireless device). Ideally, the iPhone can regularly poll the XBee for this information and then use it to display generate output.
This is similar to the way the Nike+iPod thing works I guess but I was wondering if it was possible without the use of the edge-connector attachment?
Answer
XBee is 2.4GHz, but it's not WiFi or Bluetooth. There's no API for controlling the iPod's radio at that low level. If you want to talk to an XBee network, you'll need to connect via some sort of gateway device that sits on both the XBee network, and one of the networks connected to the iPhone. That could be either the Internet, LAN, or via a physical connection to the dock connector.
If you're comfortable with hardware, you could build a device with an ethernet jack and an XBee radio, and then write software for the iPhone to talk to your gadget, which would pass your messages onto the XBee network.
Or you could build your end node devices to use WiFi directly, leaving XBee out of the equation completely.