Bluetooth Basics
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What is Bluetooth?
Bluetooth is a wireless communications specification named after the 10th century Danish King Harald Blatland, or “Bluetooth”. King Harald united the separate kingdoms of Denmark and Norway. The Bluetooth specification is intended to “unite” separate personal computing devices such as laptops, PDAs, palmtops, cell phones and peripherals, like printers for example. In short, Bluetooth is wireless technology intended for short-range radio links to replace cables. Its primary features are voice and data capabilities, robustness, low complexity, low power and low cost.
How Bluetooth Works
In the world of Bluetooth wireless technology, there are no wires and virtually no limits. Bluetooth operates on a 2.4GHz band that’s available everywhere, so no license or subscription is necessary. Using adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), the signal “hops” to various frequencies to help ensure your signal is secure. Additionally, Bluetooth products use 128-bit encryption and a PIN code upon the first connection, giving you a secure connection every time.
Unlike other wireless technology, such as infrared, the devices you want to synchronize don’t have to be facing each other to make the connection. As long as two Bluetooth enabled devices are within a specified range of one another, the connection will be made. This means you can talk on a wireless headset with your mobile phone stashed in the other room, access data from your PC on your mobile phone, or wirelessly stream music from your iPod to your home stereo. The possibilities are truly endless!
Operating range for Bluetooth enabled devices depends on the class. Class 1 devices have a range of 100 meters (300 feet) and Class 2 devices have a range of 10 meters (30 feet). Class 2 devices are most commonly found in mobile devices.
Bluetooth Devices
The popularity of Bluetooth is on the rise. The amount of Bluetooth enabled products entering the market is increasing exponentially every year. Some of the major bluetooth applications are as follows.
- Keyboard/Mouse
Lets you create a wire-free work space . No more wires attached to your mouse or keyboard. The bluetooth profile used here is Human Interface Device Profile.
- Phone Headsets
These are lightweight and portable headsets that lets you talk up to 30 feet away from your wireless phone. The bluetooth profile used by these devices is Hands Free profile.
- Headphones
Bluetooth headphones lets you go completely wire free. The bluetooth profile used by these devices is Headset profile.
- Printers/PDAs
Bluetooth printers lets you print documents without having to run cables or connect devices. There are printers that are specifically targeted for small memory devices which do not need the printer driver to be installed. The profile used by printers is Bluetooth Printing Profile.
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