Bluetooth Basics for Small Businesses
What it is, how it works and the meaning behind its name.
It seems that every new electronic device on the market claims to be
'Bluetooth enabled.' But what, exactly, is Bluetooth? How can it make
my business more efficient? And why is it called Bluetooth?
What it is
Bluetooth is a wireless technology that uses short-range radio to
connect devices. It has a relatively limited range -- about 10 meters
-- which limits its use to 'cable replacement' and similar
applications. It's perfect for connecting keyboards to computers, for
transferring digital photos from Bluetooth-equipped cameras, and
syncing PDAs and other devices to your workstation. You can even
wirelessly network printers and other peripheral devices.
But because of the 10-meter range, it's not a great option for running
an entire computer network. For now, WiFi is still your best bet for
unwired networking. But Bluetooth is great at what it does: it's
reasonably fast, it's small, and uses next to no battery power. These
factors add up to a wireless standard tailor-made for many of today's
consumer electronic devices.
Even with the built-in 10-meter limitation, manufacturers seem to have
no trouble finding innovative applications for Bluetooth. Cell phones,
PDAs, and even cars offer Bluetooth connectivity. Courier and delivery
services are equipping their delivery drivers with Bluetooth 'tablets'
that automatically sync with computers when they return to their
delivery trucks, immediately transferring package and signature data.
Bluetooth is even being used to monitor critical infrastructure
elements, such as water-pumping stations. Bluetooth's utility is
limited only by manufacturers' imaginations -- and that 10-meter range.
How it works
Bluetooth devices are equipped with tiny chips that transmit and
receive data and voice information. These chips communicate with one
another over a low radio frequency -- 2.4GHz -- on a portion of the
radio spectrum known as the Industrial, Scientific and Medical band.
Radio 'traffic' on these bands can be heavy, as the band is unlicensed,
but Bluetooth uses a technique called 'frequency hopping' to avoid
interference.
Frequency hopping, as the name suggests, means the devices are almost
constantly changing the frequencies on which they're transmitting and
receiving. These hops are synchronized, of course, between transmitter
and receiver, so communication is maintained. Frequency hopping not
only protects the data stream against interference, but also protects
it from being intercepted. Because the devices are always switching
channels, any eavesdropping devices on a specific channel would only
intercept a small fraction of all data sent.
Beyond Bluetooth
Developers are already working on Bluetooth's successor. Ultrawideband,
or UWB, technology promises to offer 'personal area networking' (that's
industry-speak for short-distance networking) capability similar to
Bluetooth, but will be much faster and much easier to use. It may even
sport improved range -- maybe up to 25 meters.
But such is the life cycle of new technologies: Yesterday's 'killer
app' is tomorrow's quaint museum exhibit. Because of its extremely wide
adoption by manufacturers, Bluetooth will certainly be around for a
while, before it's superseded by UWB or whatever the next latest and
greatest technology is. And for now, Bluetooth is a good way to get rid
of those pesky wires.
But what about that name?
Harald Bl tand was a 10th century Danish king. He is credited with
uniting the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway. Bl tand, which means 'dark
hair' or 'dark complexion,' (the most likely reasons this Harald was
called Bl tand) also translates loosely to 'blue teeth.' The original
Bluetooth developers, many of whom were Scandinavian, likened their
quest to unite disparate devices to Harald Bl tand's unification of
disparate countries.
Hence the name.
Source: http://www.allbusiness.com