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Articles: Telecommunications - Bluetooth
By Raymond
Klesc
No question about it, Bluetooth is very handy
thanks to its improved integration with computers, cell phones and
automobiles.
When Bluetooth first appeared about five years
ago, the hype far outstripped its usefulness. The ability to
eliminate the tangles of cords and cables was very alluring.
Unfortunately, cost and complexity almost brought the technology to
its knees.
Now its back, alive and well, fulfilling its
promise as a useful tool in a variety of settings. Europe was its
early adopter and it is standard on nearly all European cell phones.
They have adopted Bluetooth enabled phones, laptops, wireless
keyboards, mice and more.
Sexy Headsets: Cingular and
T-Mobile wireless carriers use the same technology as their European
counterparts and thus offer Bluetooth enabled devices for their
customers. Bluetooth is rarer from Sprint and Verizon Communications
which are based on North American technologies.
One major
boost for adoption of Bluetooth enabled mobile phones will come from
State and local governments. Many new laws and ordinances have been
adopted or are in various stages of implementation that will levy
fines for driving and using a hand held cell phone. The push for
hands-free calling will move Bluetooth forward in the marketplace.
Acura TL now offers Bluetooth integrated into the automobile
allowing the driver to use the cars stereo system as a speakerphone
and displays information on the dashboard. Bluetooth car kits are
now available from Motorola, Nokia, Parrot and others for about
$100.
Early teething problems included high cost and poor
battery life and made it unattractive for handsets. But now
Logitech’s Mobile Bluetooth handset can be had for about $50. The
$140 Jabra BT800, which lets you control many cell-phone functions
on the headset, offers six hours of talk time and five days of
standby. After that, you can recharge by running a USB cable from
the headset into a laptop so you don't need to take a charger with
you. A headset on the way from Plantronics will come with adapters
that allow charging from most phone adapters or from an AA battery.
Bluetooth Linking: Beyond mobile phones, Bluetooth is
beginning to make inroads into other aspects of wireless
communication. Although Windows support is somewhat primitive by
current standards, the technology is standard on Apple Macintoshes
and optional on other products. Apple uses the latest, faster
version of Bluetooth. If Mac detects a Bluetooth enabled keyboard
and mouse during startup, it will link to them automatically.
PalmOne is also a big supporter of Bluetooth. PalmOne's
software overcomes most of the Windows difficulties and allows their
handheld devices to sync and swap files with a Windows laptop over
Bluetooth. Making sync work with a new Mac PowerBook is even easier.
As for Microsoft's primitive Bluetooth world, it is possible to get
a Pocket PC to sync with Windows over Bluetooth, but is only for the
technically savvy.
Bluetooth Worth Waiting For: Bluetooth
still falls short. Early promoters envisioned that you would be able
to walk up to a printer with your laptop of PDA, click a button, and
print. We’re still waiting for that one. Bluetooth printers are rare
but we can assume that the advent of Bluetooth enabled digital
camera phones will spur this technology further and make for easy
printing of those treasured moments.
The technology savvy
users are an impatient lot. If it doesn’t catch on right away they
move on to something newer and different. If anything, Bluetooth has
proven that acceptance can take a while. But isn’t it worth the
wait?
We technology watchers are an impatient lot who tend
to give up on anything that doesn't catch on right away. Bluetooth
has proved once again that acceptance can take a long time -- and
that sometimes it's worth the wait.
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