Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology that lets you connect computers, mobile phones, and handheld devices to each other and to the Internet.
Bluetooth technology eliminates the need for the cables that connect devices together. Bluetooth-enabled devices connect wirelessly within a 10 m range. Bluetooth it’s a specification for the use of low-power radio communications to wirelessly link phones, computers and other network devices over short distances.
The name Bluetooth is borrowed from Harald Bluetooth, a king in Denmark more than 1,000 years ago. Bluetooth technology was designed primarily to support simple wireless networking of personal consumer devices and peripherals, including cell phones, PDAs, and wireless headsets. Wireless signals transmitted with Bluetooth cover short distances, typically up to 30 feet (10 meters). Bluetooth devices generally communicate at less than 1 Mbps.
Bluetooth is the name of a wireless technology standard for connecting devices, set to replace cables. It uses radio frequencies in the 2.45 GHz range to transmit information over short distances of generally 10 meters or less. By embedding a Bluetooth chip and receiver into products, cables that would normally carry the signal can be eliminated. While entertainment centers, computer systems, handheld PDAs, digital cameras and MP3 players, continue to flourish, manufacturers and end-users alike are plagued by the growing complexity of connecting devices.
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One wireless standard that is already familiar to many is IrDA or infrared. Infrared uses pulses of non-visible light to communicate between two devices, such as a remote control to a television or DVD player. One drawback of IrDA is that there must be a clear line of sight between the two devices, and the other disadvantage is that IrDA normally only operates between two devices at a time. An infrared remote control unit cannot communicate with the DVD player while it is signaling the TV. Bluetooth overcomes these limitations by using radio waves to send information in packet bursts. The bursts can be sent to any device within ‘earshot’ allowing communication with several devices at once.
With the popularity of PDA-type products many have come to dread the bane of synchronizing with their computer systems. Cradles, cables, and sometimes luck is needed to ensure a success. Bluetooth technology eliminates this hassle, as the enabled devices easily recognize each other and communicate spontaneously. Bluetooth devices in the house are always communicating with one another as long as they are powered on. Each device sends out a signal, received by the other devices that are sending out their own signals. The devices scan all signals to see if any are addressing it. In this way, Bluetooth creates a personal-area network (PAN) in the home and the user is not required to do anything special to get the devices to speak to one another. They operate in a perpetual interactive mode by default.