The technology of Bluetooth is nothing new, but in many respects it can still seem like more of a buzzword rather than an accepted technology.

You may see the ads for Bluetooth enabled devices, although you still may be wondering what it is.

Capabilities

The Bluetooth definition is a wireless technology that is a worldwide specification for a small form factor, low cost solution that will provide link between mobile devices and other electronic devices.

Similar to 802.11 b/g wireless technology and many cordless telephone systems, Bluetooth operates on 2.4 GHz radio signals.

The 2.4 GHz band seems to be a bit crowded, with interferences between the devices a bit hard to avoid. Telephones are now being offered at the 5.8 GHz frequency band, which will help to? Remedy this.

The technical specifications of Bluetooth will indicate a maximum transfer rate of 723 kbps with a range of 65 - 328 feet, all depending on the class of that particular device. The speed is a fraction of what is offered by wireless technology standards, so it’s obvious that Bluetooth doesn’t really pose a threat to replacing your wireless technology network.

Applications

Bluetooth is a high speed, low powered wireless link technology that’s designed to connect phones or other portable equipment together with little to no work required by the user. Unlike infrared, wireless technologies don’t require line of site positioning to work.

Current prototype circuits are contained on a board that is 0.9 cm square, with a much smaller circuit board being developed.

When one Bluetooth device comes in contact with another, they will automatically exchange addresses and details of capability. Then, they can establish a 1 MB link with security that they will use as required. The protocols involved with handle both data and voice, with a very flexible topography.

The wireless technologies achieve its goal by embedding tiny, non expensive short range transceivers into the devices available today. The radio operates on the 2.45 GHz frequency band, and supports up to 721 KBps, along with three voice channels.

Each device offers a unique 48 bit address from the IEEE 802 standard, with the connections being point to point or multipoint. The max range is 10 meters, although it can be extended to 100 meters by increasing the power. The devices are also protected from radio interference by changing their frequencies, also known as frequency hopping.

With Bluetooth being very popular with wireless networking, it’s no wonder there are many applications for Bluetooth technology. Below, you’ll find the applications

for Bluetooth.

1. Wireless networking between laptops and desktop computers or desktops that are in a confined space and little bandwidth is needed.

2. Peripherals such as mice, keyboards and printers.

3. Cell phones with Bluetooth technology have been sold in large numbers, as they are able to connect to computers, PDAs (Personal Data Assistant), and various other devices. The standard also includes the support for more powerful and longer range devices.

4. The transfer of files, images and MP3, between mobile phones.

5. Certain MP3 players and digital cameras to transfer files to and from computers.

6. Bluetooth technology headsets for smart phones and cell phones.

7. Data logging equipment that transmits data to a computer via Bluetooth technology.

8. Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Revolution will both use Bluetooth technology for their wireless networking.

For Bluetooth, there are literally hundreds of different applications for Bluetooth and devices available for you to use or purchase. As you may already know, Bluetooth is the most popular wireless networking in the world. It’s very reliable, very dependable, and very hard to crack into.

The 10 reasons and benefits of Bluetooth technology are:

1. Wireless

As you probably already know, there are many benefits of Bluetooth and advantages to using wireless devices. Along with improving safety as a result of eliminating wires you don’t need, wireless also offers you plenty of other advantages. When traveling with your laptop or other wireless devices, you’ll no longer have to worry about bringing connection cables.

2. Bluetooth is actually inexpensive

The benefit of Bluetooth technology is that it is cheap for companies to implement, which results in lower costs for the company. These savings are then passed from the company on to you.

3. Bluetooth is automatic

Bluetooth doesn’t have you set up a connection or push any buttons. When two or more wireless devices enter a range of up to 30 feet of each other, they will automatically begin to communicate without you having to do anything.

4. Standardized protocol

Bluetooth that it is standardized wireless device, meaning that a high level of compatibility among devices is guaranteed. The Bluetooth that it can connect wireless devices to each other even though, they aren’t of the same model.

Bluetooth was designed to allow low bandwidth wireless connections to become easy to use so even those who are new to wireless can use them.

Version 1.1 of Bluetooth describes a low power, short range wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to send data at rates up to 720 kilobits a second.

The specification for Bluetooth provides for different classes of radio waves that allow transmission ranges of up to 100 meters by boosting the radio power.

The technology of Bluetooth isn’t limited to line of sight transmission since it uses directional radio waves that are capable of transmitting through many obstructions.

Bluetooth is an industry standard communication of wireless, meaning that it enables the connection of other devices as well, such as cell phones, computers, digital cameras, and other types of electronic devices. The specification of Bluetooth defines a radio waves system and a “stack” of protocol layers and profiles. The highest layer is the application layer, while the lowest layer is the radio.

With new electrical devices being produced every day, the problem of connecting things is becoming more and more complex in nature.

The system that comprises computers and other electronics makes use of varieties of wires, cables, etc.

These parts will communicate through light beams, lasers, radio signals and infrared.

The problem however, is the devices and technology is often the connection between each component. Therefore, most electronic systems aren’t used to their full extent due to the problems and imperfections.

To help simplify things, a solution was created -the solution of Bluetooth. Bluetooth is wireless and automatic, offering users a variety of features that has simplified the art of connection. Bluetooth has revolutionized the standard methods of connecting things to enabling almost anything to be connected to a single system.

Aside from Bluetooth, there are other ways of connecting wireless devices. One example of such is the IR or infrared. Infrared allows low frequency light waves to transmit signals to another component. This technology is easy to create and the cost of putting the IR device into a system is rather low.

Bluetooth wireless technology offers three different types of defined ranges, based on output ranges.

Class1 devices are the most powerful, as they can have up to 100 mW of power, with a regular antenna giving them a range of around 130 - 330 feet.

The class 2 devices are lower power, offering up to 2.5 mW of power. A regular antenna will give them a range of around 50 - 100 feet.

Class 3 devices use even less power i.e., up to 1 mW of power. With a regular antenna they will have a range of around 16 - 33 feet.

Even though you may not realize it, Bluetooth wireless technology has never been intended for anything other than short distance types of communication. With Bluetooth wireless, the short range is actually a benefit.

For one, the short range will reduce the change of interference between your devices and those that belong to others who are nearby. Overall, this is a basic type of security, designed to protect you and your devices.

Secondly, the lower power used for short range means a longer battery life. Most Bluetooth wireless devices will get their power from a battery, meaning that anything you can do to lengthen the battery life is very important.

Below, you’ll find a list of the most used Bluetooth accessories in Bluetooth technology introduction. They can serve as a look up,or to help you learn more about Bluetooth accessories in general.

2 in 1 handset

The situation where a subscriber’s handset is acting as a remote handset to a base unit that provides a network connection.

3G

Third generation, referring to the next generationof digital phone technology.

802.11 WLAN

A wireless LAN specification defined by the IEEE.

Access code

Each base band packet will start with an access code, which can be one of 3 types - CAC, DAC, and IAC?

ACK

Acknowledge.

ACL

Asynchronous Connectionless Link. This is one of the two types of data links that are defined for Bluetooth.

ACO

Authenticated Ciphering Offset.

Active mode

During the active mode, the unit will actively participate on the channel. The master will schedule the transmission based on traffic demands from the different slaves.

AP

Access point.

Authentification

The process of verifying who is at the opposite end of the link.

Authentification device

The Bluetooth technology history will take small area networking to the next level by removing the need for user intervention and help keep transmission power very low to preserve battery power.

Each transmission signal to and from your cellular phone will use just 1 mw of power, giving you plenty space on your battery to talk.

The Bluetooth technology history is a networking standard that will work on two levels:

1. It will provide agreement at the physical level, as Bluetooth is a radio frequency standard.

2. It will provide agreement at the level of protocol, where products will have to agree on when bits are sent, how many are sent and how the parties in conversation can be sure the message received is the same one that was sent.

The major benefits to Bluetooth technology history are the fact that it’s wireless, inexpensive, and automatic. There are other ways to get around wires, including infrared. Infrared uses light waves of a lower frequency than the human eye can, and is normally used in television remote controls.

The new Apple power book G4 are among the first computers to offer Bluetooth technology 2.0+EDR.The 2.0+ EDR technologies, which still backwards compatible with 1.0, is up to three times faster than previous versions, offering maximum data rate transfers of up to 3 MBps.

Being the first company to certify a system with 2.0+EDR, Apple power Book continues to make great use of the Bluetooth technology.

Full support

In addition to the Apple power book G4 portables, there are other Bluetooth enabled computers available from Apple power book, including the iBook, iMac G5, eMac and the Power Mac G5.

Making life easier

When you turn the Bluetooth feature on, your Mac can easily perform a file transfer or even asynchronization. From the Bluetooth selection menu, you can choose to either send a file or browse devices, quickly and easily. Or, you can click the sync button in iSync to update your cell phone or Palm OS handheld.

The Mac and GSM/GPRS mobile phone with Bluetooth work to make each other more useful. By using iSync, you can keep your phone updated without having to type any info, as you can keep the information in the more manageable address book on your Mac instead.