What is Bluetooth?
It seems as though everyone
is talking about Bluetooth technologies these days, and many of us
are wondering - what exactly is Bluetooth. Here's a one-minute summary
of what Bluetooth is all about, and why it's so exciting to so many
people.
What is it?
Bluetooth is a specification that allows devices to communicate with
each other without wires. Currently, many devices use infra red ports
to communicate with each other, but where most infra red devices use
a narrow beam to establish a line of sight connection, Bluetooth devices
use radio waves that can pass through clothes, briefcases, and even
walls. This means that you don't have to worry about where or how
a Bluetooth device is positioned in order to have it communicate with
other devices. Bluetooth is not specifically a wireless networking
protocol, but it can provide much of the same functionality as a wireless
LAN, such as file transfer, printing, etc (although not at the same
level of performance and sophistication as a pure wireless LAN system).
You should keep in mind that Bluetooth does not replace wireless LAN
protocols, such as IEEE 802.11, for example.
Examples
If you use a laptop, Bluetooth technology would let you connect to
a printer, scanner, or other peripheral without fumbling to connect
a cable. Imagine walking into an office with your laptop and being
able to print from wherever you sit down and turn it on, as well as
synchronize
your PDA and other devices.
While traveling, Bluetooth could be used
to connect your PDA to your cell phone for surfing the internet.
The cell phone provides the communication with the internet through
your service provider, your PDA would have a large, color screen for
viewing web pages. Your cell phone could remain in your briefcase,
your purse, or in your pocket - Bluetooth signals don't require a
line-of-sight orientation to establish a connection. Planes and commuter
trains could be equipped with Bluetooth systems that would allow you
to make phone calls or connect to the internet over the vehicle's
main communication links with those services.
Another application is smart
telephone handsets that automatically convert functionally based
on where you are. At home, Bluetooth signals would identify the availability
of your home phone lines, and the handset would work as a cordless
phone, using your landline to establish a connection. On the road
- away from Bluetooth services, the handset would use your cellular
provider to make calls, like a cell phone. When you get to the office,
the handset would detect a Bluetooth service from your office telephone
system and operate as a wireless extension on your office telephone
exchange.
These are just a few of the potential applications that people are
working on. The actual scope of Bluetooth products that are in the
works is beyond the brief description that is presented here.
Potential Issues
The fact that Bluetooth signals pass through obstacles in all directions
raises the issue of security. Infra red communications are confined
to a very narrow beam, which makes eavesdropping and intercepting
information very difficult. Bluetooth signals are received by all
devices that are in range, so the Bluetooth specification includes
provisions for making sure that information is delivered to its intended
target and not to others.
Bluetooth operates in the 2.4GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and
Medical) band. This means that Bluetooth devices do not need a special
license from the FCC to operate. It also means that Bluetooth devices
have to contend with interference from other unlicensed devices operating
in the same frequency range - including 802.11 type wireless LAN devices.
Currently, this type of interference is potentially a serious problem.
Getting these new wireless technologies to co-exist will be an interesting
issue to follow.
For More Information
If you want to learn more about Bluetooth, we recommend either of our courses:
Short Range Wireless
Communications and Bluetooth or Bluetooth: An Introduction.
You can also visit the
Official Bluetooth Website
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