What is Bluetooth?

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Bluetooth is a computing and telecommunications industry specification that describes how mobile phones, computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) can easily interconnect with each other and with home and business phones and computers using a short-range wireless connection. Using this technology, users of cellular phones, pagers, and personal digital assistants such as the PalmPilot will be able to buy a three-in-one phone that can double as a portable phone at home or in the office, get quickly synchronized with information in a desktop or notebook computer, initiate the sending or receiving of a fax, initiate a print-out, and, in general, have all mobile and fixed computer devices be totally coordinated.

Bluetooth requires that 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). In addition to data, up to three voice channels are available. Each device has a unique 48-bit address from the IEEE 802 standard. Connections can be point-to-point or multipoint. The maximum range is 10 meters. Data can be exchanged at a rate of 1 megabit per second (up to 2 Mbps in the second generation of the technology). A frequency hop scheme allows devices to communicate even in areas with a great deal of electromagnetic interference. Built-in encryption and verification is provided.

 Why is it called Bluetooth? 

• Name after Herald Bluetooth, the Viking King who united Denmark and Norway in the 10th century. 

• Herald Christianized the Danes. 

• Bluetooth Wireless technology will unite mobile electronic devices of the world.

Bluetooth Terminology

Piconet: a collection of devices connected via Bluetooth technology in an ad hoc fashion. A piconet starts with two connected devices, such as a portable PC and cellular phone, and may grow to eight connected devices. All Bluetooth devices are peer units and have identical implementations. However, when establishing a piconet, one unit will act as a master and the other(s) as slave(s) for the duration of the piconet connection.

Scatternet: Multiple independent and non-synchronized piconets form a scatternet. 

Master unit: the device in a piconet whose clock and hopping sequence are used to synchronize all other devices in the piconet.

Slave units: all devices in a piconet that are not the master.

Bluetooth Technology Specifications

The Basic Bluetooth System Architecture

802.11 vs. BLUETOOTH vs. IR

Connecting Bluetooth Devices

The following articles include connecting various peripheral devices, such as a printer, PDA, and cell phones, along with transferring files from one computer to another.   Once you have installed the proper Bluetooth software, and configured your device, connecting to other Bluetooth devices is relatively simple.   These articles will concentrate on personal devices rather than networking devices such as access points.

In the first part we will establish a connection between a Compaq iPAQ, and a computer or laptop with Bluetooth software installed.   Remember, Bluetooth is a wireless technology, and not a networked device.

The Official Bluetooth® Wireless Info Site
 

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