I Know Computers Well

Because it meets the basic needs of connectivity in close range, Bluetooth has a very bright future ahead of it.  Bluetooth is actually the result of initiatives from nine leading communications and computer industry giants, including 3-COM, Sony, Lucent, IBM, Nokia, Microsoft, etc.

Since the forming of the original group, more than 1,800 manufacturers around the world have joined the initiative.  According to reports, the Bluetooth technology is expected to be built into more than 100 million devices, with over 670 million enabled Bluetooth devices.

Resulting from the amazing success of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), the adoption of smart phones and hand held devices, Bluetooth can easily have an amazing impact on your day to day life.  Bluetooth is one of the key technologies that can help to make the mobile information society happen, by blurring the possibilities between home, the office, and the outside world.

The seamless integration and connectivity that Bluetooth promises will make it possible to explore a wide range of interactive and highly transparent personalized services which were actually quite difficult to dream of simply because of the complexity involved with making such devices communicate with each other.

Many Bluetooth pilot products have already been rolled into the market and backed by big vendors, which is a healthy sign for the overall acceptance of the technology.  The support for Bluetooth isn’t limited to companies that develop only Bluetooth enabled products.

The applications for Bluetooth can have great impacts on other industries as well.  The adoption of Bluetooth technology is expected to spread throughout the industry of computers.

Unlike infrared technology, Bluetooth is used by many different wireless devices.  Bluetooth offers exceptional quality for short range wireless, even going through walls and obstructions.  While infrared is the biggest competitor at this time, Bluetooth far surpasses it, proving to millions that it is the wireless communication technology of the present day and age.

In the beginning, Bluetooth started with version 1.0, then gradually moved from there.  The current version is 2.0+EDR, with another version currently in development.  The technology behind the Bluetooth specification always getting better and better, which is why it’s so popular.

In the future, you can expect the technology behind Bluetooth to get better.  Bluetooth has proven to be the wireless standard of the future, offering you wireless connectability for hundreds of different devices.  For cell phones or other forms of wireless connections, Bluetooth is the one technology that you don’t want to find yourself without.

The Apple powerbook G4 are among the first computers to offer Bluetooth technology 2.0+EDR. The 2.0+EDR technology, 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 continues to make great use of the Bluetooth technology.

Full support
In addition to the powerbook G4 portables, there are other Bluetooth enabled computers available from Apple, 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 a synchronization.  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.

You can also use your Bluetooth enabled Mac to print documents and digital images to select a printer that also supports the technology of Bluetooth.  Or, you can also use a headset to
talk to your friends during an iChat session.

Your Mac also has the ability to use Bluetooth technology to communicate with your Palm OS handheld.  This way, you can perform a HotSync operation without using any cables.  You can also send your business card or calendar events directly to someone else’s handheld usingthe technology of Bluetooth.

The implementation of Bluetooth by Apple is the latest in a series of moves that have caused great shift in the computer industry.  Apple established USB as the standard interface with
the launching of the first Mac back in 1998.

Since then, Apple established the 802.11 wireless standard of networking with the launch of the iBook and AirPort in 1999.  During 2003, Apple launched AirPort Extreme, which was based on the new 802.11g high speed technology of wireless.

Now, Bluetooth helps to further strengthen the dominant position of the Mac in wireless communications, helping to preserve Apple’s reputation for being the first to market with
innovative technology that integrates right into the operating system.

Below, you’ll find several specifications for the well known Bluetooth:

1.  Throughout the United States and even Europe, the range of frequency is 2,400 – 2,483.5 MHZ, with 79 1-MHz RF (radio frequency) channels.  The frequency range in Japan is 2,472 to 2,497 MHz with 23 1-MHz RF channels.

2.  A data channel of Bluetooth randomly hops 1,600 times per second between the 79 RF channels.

3.  Each Bluetooth channel is divided into time slots, with each one being 625 microseconds long.

4.  A Bluetooth piconet has one master and up to seven slaves.  The master will transmit in even time slots, while the slaves will transmit in odd time slots.

5.  The data in a single packet can be up to 2,745 bits in length.

6.  Currently, there are two types of data transfer between devices – SCO (synchronous connection oriented) and ACL (asynchronous connectionless).

7.  In a Bluetooth piconet, there can be up to three SCO links containing 64,000 bits per second with each one.  To help avoid collision and timing problems, the links of the SCO will use reserved slots set up by the master.

8.  A master can support up to three SCO links with either one, two, or even three slaves.

9.  The slots not reserved for the SCO links can be used for ACL links.

10.  A single master and slave can have one ACL link.

11.  ACL is either master to one slave (point to point) or it broadcasts to all of the slaves.

12.  The ACL slaves will only transmit when it has been requested by the master.  If the master doesn’t make the request, the ACL slaves won’t transmit anything at all.

Version 1.1 and earlier
Since the technology of Bluetooth was introduced in 1998, several specification versions have been released. Versions 1.0 and 1.0B had too many issues and problems for manufacturers to develop devices for Bluetooth. The main issue was the lack of communication among the devices.

The core specification version 1.1 is the first successful operating version of Bluetooth. Version 1.1 corrected a majority of the bugs and problems found in earlier versions.

Version 1.2
Many of the newer Bluetooth devices, such as the newer cell phones are being sold with the newer Bluetooth version 1.2. This version offers backward compatability with Bluetooth 1.1, faster transmission speeds, received signal strength, and a host controller interface (HCI) support for 3 wire UART.

Bluetooth version 2.0
It’s true that there may be multiple communication technologies, although they all share one common trait – faster is better. Bluetooth specialists realized this, and therefore worked on improving the speeds of version 1.2. The newest version, version 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) was accounced in 2004 and became available in late 2005.

Version 2.0 delivers data transfer rates of up to three times that of the original version of Bluetooth. Version 2.0 also provides enhanced connectivity. With Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, you’ll be able to run more devices at the same time – with more efficiency.

Computers and even computer related devices are expected to be some of the first devices to encorporate Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, followed of course by audio and imaging devices.

Version 2.0 is backward compatible with previous versions, three times faster, and offers an enhanced data rate of 2.1 MB a second. It also offers broadcast and multicast support, along with a further enhanced bit error rate performance, making it the best Bluetooth has ever seen.

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 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 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 system and a “stack” of protocol
layers and profiles. The highest layer is the application layer, while the lowest layer is the radio.

The wireless technology of Bluetooth is positioned to revolutionize the personal connectivity market
by providing freedom from inconvenient fixed type lines.

The specification for Bluetooth eliminates the need for cables by providing a small form factor, low
cost wireless solution that will link computers, cell phones, and other electronics. Bluetooth
also allows users to connect many ranges of devices quickly and easily and expands communications
capabilities as well.

The size of the Bluetooth radio is amazing, as a Bluetooth radio can be built into one or two very
small microchips then integrated into any electronic device where wireless operations would be an
advantage.

Bluetooth also offers a robust link, which ensures that normal operating circumstances are not
interrupted by interference from other signals that are operating in the same frequency band.

Also known for its worldwide operation, Bluetooth radio operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, which
is license free and available to any type of radio system in the world. No matter where you are in the world, you count on Bluetooth to work.

Security is also important. Offering advanced security mechanisms, Bluetooth ensures a high level
of security. Therefore, authentification will prevent unauthorized acess to important data and make it very difficult to listen in.

Bluetooth also boasts power optimization. The radio is power friendly and the software for Bluetooth
is very configurable, limiting the power consumption of equipment. The radio itself only consumes a
small amount of power from a cellular phone.