Bluetooth - What is It?

You've probably heard of Bluetooth and probably own a few gadgets that are Bluetooth enabled. But you've never touched it because you're perfectly used to the wires of life. Well, you should prepare for the future: wireless. Bluetooth, in a nutshell, is a low-power and short range transceiver (both transmitter and receiver) allowing data transfer between any pair of electronic devices with Bluetooth enabled.

The name "Bluetooth" came from Harald Bluetooth, King of Denmark and Norway who successfully united tribes in Denmark. Likewise, Bluetooth intends to "unite" different electronic devices such as the computer and phone. Before mobile phones were even popular, the technology for Bluetooth was being developed in Sweden by Jaap Haartsen and Sven Mattisson. Originally, it was full of errors, mistakes and failures. A couple of years later, the technology changed to what is now called Bluetooth 1.1 and later, Bluetooth 1.2. Both of these versions fixed bugs and errors, sped up the overall connection progress and added features such as the ability to change frequencies when it's being overused in the area.

The current version is 2.1, released just last year. Note that if you're worried your device won't work, don't! All products are backwards capable (to date). There were not many changes aside from much faster transfer rate and lower power consumption. However, with the growing adaptation to wireless technology, it was the only way to keep up. The future of Bluetooth looks to increase channels for information (such as wifi hotspots) and simplify usage while improving speed and power usage.

The device uses the 2.4-2.4835 GHz band to transfer data, with the newer devices allowing up to 2Mbits per second; for the less informed reader, this basically means there are relatively few things that can interfere with the frequency and transmits at a decent speed (although, no where near as fast as wires). Any Bluetooth enabled device has the ability to "pair" with any other Bluetooth enabled device. This means the two devices "know" each other and will allow data to be exchanged as desired. In most instances, these pairings are saved but can be deleted at anytime; however, even if two devices are paired, the user will still be prompted to allow any exchange to take place if it involves a risk of harm, for example, transferring pictures. Since this is a wireless technology, anyone who is determined enough, can collect the bits of data being sent by the transmitter and so, all Bluetooth devices allow the data to be encrypted.

The most common use for Bluetooth is to pair headphones with cellphones, giving the user complete freedom in hands. Perhaps you've seen the businessmen in airports who wear those headpieces in one ear. That's how simple the technology is: it allows automatic answers and complete hands-free talk. Another common use for it is to sync phones or PDAs with computers to back up data or to transfer files. Because of how easy it is to use the technology, this method is generally more popular than using wifi. Due to growing technology, some users are using Bluetooth as a complete replacement for wires. It is possible to buy Bluetooth enabled mouse and keyboard which completes gets ride of the need to have wires showing on a desktop computer; since many laptops have the technology built in, a Bluetooth mouse can be quite handy.