About Bluetooth Technology
Most of us are using and seeing Bluetooth devices like mobile phones, printers, keyboard, mouse etc, for the last couple of years. Here you can find a brief about Bluetooth technology.
About Bluetooth
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is a privately held, not-for-profit trade association. The Special Interest Group was founded in September 1998. The Bluetooth SIG itself does not make, manufacture, or sell Bluetooth enabled products. The SIG has more than 10,000 member companies that are leaders in the telecommunications, computing, automotive, music, apparel, industrial automation, and network industries. SIG members drive development of Bluetooth wireless technology, and implement and market the technology in their products. The SIG has a small group of dedicated staff in Hong Kong, Sweden, and the USA.
Bluetooth Name
Bluetooth started as the code name for the association when it was first formed and the name stuck. The name “Bluetooth” is from the 10th century Danish King Harald Blatand - or Harold Bluetooth in English. King Blatand was instrumental in uniting warring factions in parts of what is now Norway, Sweden and Denmark - just as Bluetooth technology is designed to allow collaboration between differing industries such as the computing, mobile phone and automotive markets.
What is Bluetooth Technology?
Bluetooth is basically a wireless connection between devices, to transfer data and voice over a short distances. Bluetooth describes the way to connect and exchange information between devices such as mobile phones, laptops, personal computers, printers, GPS receivers, digital cameras, and video game consoles over a secure, globally unlicensed short-range radio frequency.
Bluetooth Requirement
Bluetooth devices require a low-cost transceiver chip be included in each device. The transceiver transmits and receives in a previously unused frequency band of 2.45 GHz that is available globally (with some variation of bandwidth in different countries).
Bluetooth Works
Bluetooth networking transmits data via low-power radio waves. It communicates on a frequency of 2.45 gigahertz (actually between 2.402 GHz and 2.480 GHz, to be exact). This frequency band has been set aside by international agreement for the use of industrial, scientific and medical devices (ISM).
How Bluetooth Works
Bluetooth devices will normally operate at 2.45 GHz in the license free, globally available ISM radio band and supports data speeds of up to 721 Kbps, as well as three voice channels. The advantage to this band includes worldwide availability and compatibility. A disadvantage to this however, is that the devices must share this band with other RF emitters. This includes automobile security systems, other wireless devices, and other noise sources, such as microwaves. To overcome this challenge, Bluetooth employs a quick frequency hopping scheme and therefore uses shorter packets than other standards within the ISM band. This scheme helps to make Bluetooth communication more robust and more secure.
Bluetooth Devices
Growing number of devices supports Bluetooth Digital cameras and camcorders Printers Scanners Cell Phones PDAs Laptops Keyboards and Mice Headsets In-car handsfree kits GPS navigation receivers Home appliances (microwaves, washers, driers, refrigerators)
In addition, you can use USB Bluetooth Dongle to convert non Bluetooth devices like PC/Mobile into Bluetooth one
Bluetooth Security
Bluetooth is extremely secure; it employs several layers of data encryption and user authentication measures. Bluetooth devices use a combination of the Personal Identification Number (PIN) and a Bluetooth address to identify other Bluetooth devices. Data encryption (i.e., 128-bit) can be used to further enhance the degree of Bluetooth security. The transmission scheme (FHSS) provides another level of security in itself. Instead of transmitting over one frequency within the 2.4 GHz band, Bluetooth radios use a fast frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technique, allowing only synchronized receivers to access the transmitted data.
Bluetooth VS Wi-Fi Technology Bluetooth is not a competitor to Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi is primarily used as an alternate to traditional cable based networks. It has a longer range than Bluetooth, and supports faster data transfer speeds, and so it might seem better than Bluetooth. But, in reality, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi have different purposes. Bluetooth is intended for limited data transfer between many different types of devices, Wi-Fi is more focussed on faster data transfer between computers on a network. Below are some distinguishing features of Bluetooth & Wi-Fi One of the distinctive elements of Bluetooth is that is use very much less power than Wi-Fi. Class 2 devices (such as are in PDAs, phones, headsets, etc) transmit a very low power signal (1 mW) and only transmit intermittently when in standby mode, saving even more power. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, consumes a great deal of power, and so for any type of portable battery operated device, Bluetooth will allow for substantially more battery life than would Wi-Fi. Other distinguishing features is speed, Bluetooth operates at about 720kbps, WiFi at 11mbps–a big speed difference. Bluetooth is too slow for transferring videos or large images. If you simply want to swap data between different devices in your office and elsewhere on a casual and occasional basis, then Bluetooth is probably a better choice for you. If you need more range, and higher bandwidth; perhaps if you want to connect computers into your office LAN, then Wi-Fi is a better choice for you. A single Bluetooth device can be connected to up to seven other devices at the same time. This makes it easy to find and connect to the device you are looking for or to switch between devices, such as two printers. WiFi is more complex; it requires the same degree of network management as any comparable wired network. Main drawbacks of Bluetooth devices are speed and operated within distance range of 30 to 60 foot range
Bluetooth devices are low cost, convenient and simple way of enabling your various computer devices to talk to each other and to their peripherals. The reality has yet to match the promise, but Bluetooth is becoming more widespread and functional every day. Bluetooth is almost certainly in your future.
Find more about Bluetooth technology
www.bluetooth.com www.xircom.com www.ericsson.com/bluetooth