Bluetooth has a lot to offer with an increasingly difficult market place.  Bluetooth helps to bring
with it the promise of freedom from the cables and simplicity in networking that has yet to be matched by LAN (Local Area Network).

In the key marketplace, of wireless and handheld devices, the closest competitor to Bluetooth is
infrared.  Infrared holds many key features, although the line of sight it provides doesn’t go
through walls or through obstacles like that of the Bluetooth technology.

Unlike infrared, Bluetooth isn’t a line of sight and it provides ranges of up to 100 meters.  Bluetooth
is also low power and low processing with an overhead protocol.  What this means, is that it’s
ideal for integration into small battery powered devices.  To put it short, the applications with
Bluetooth are virtually endless. 

Disadvantages

Bluetooth has several positive features and one would be extremely hard pressed to find downsides
when given the current competition.  The only real downsides are the data rate and security.  Infrared
can have data rates of up to 4 MBps, which provides very fast rates for data transfer, while Bluetooth
only offers 1 MBps.

For this very reason, infrared has yet to be dispensed with completely and is considered by
many to be the complimentary technology to that of Bluetooth.  Infrared has inherent security due
to its line of sight.  The greater range and radio frequency (RF) of Bluetooth make it much more open to interception and attack.  For this reason, security is a very key aspect to the Bluetooth specification.

Although there are very few disadvantages, Bluetooth still remains the best for short range wireless
technology.  Those who have tried it love it, and they know for a fact that Bluetooth will be
around for years to come.

Constantly evolving, the technology of Bluetooth started off as a basic wireless connection standard
but has since then been adapted and proven with many different uses and functions.

A good example is Bluetooth for cell phones.  It enables mobile users to connect to their hands free
headset without using wires.  Bluetooth technology will also allow mobile phone users to connect
with their hands free kit as well.

Another handy use of Bluetooth is file sharing.  It allows the sharing of files between two cell phones,
between a cell phone and computer, which makes the sharing of files a snap.  If you have a cell phone
and computer, you can easily transfer data between the two.

Say for example you wanted to put an MP3 on your phone from your computer you could do it easily
with Bluetooth.  All you would need is a Bluetooth adapter for your computer.  It doesn’t stop with the
swapping of files either,as you can use your computer and phone to synchronise phone books, send SMS messages, and much more.

Although Bluetooth may be dandy for cell phones, it also comes in handy for the home office as well.
Utilizing Bluetooth is a great way to set up a home office – two computers, a printer, and even a
scanner.  They all can be connected using Bluetooth technology with effective ranges of up to 10 meters.

The technology and devices of Bluetooth will be around for years and years to come.  As years go
by, Bluetooth will provide even better wireless solutions for different applications.  Even though
Bluetooth has a short range, it has that short range for a reason.  Bluetooth is easily the best
in wireless technology – which it continues to prove time and time again.

Bluetooth is easily the best in wireless handheld technology.  When it comes to learning, Bluetooth
can get quite complicated.  To help you, you’ll find the key learning points of Bluetooth below:

1.  Bluetooth is an energy efficient, low overhead communication protocol that’s ideal for
interdevice communications.

2.  Unlike infrared, Bluetooth doesn’t require a line of sight.

3.  Depending on the implementation, Bluetooth can have a range of up to 100 meters.

4.  The specification of Bluetooth consists of a Foundation Profile Document and a Foundation Core
Document.

5.  The protocol stack for Bluetooth consists of core protocols, cable protocols, and even adapted
protocols.

6.  The transmitter operates around the 2.4 GHz frequency band.

7.  The data channel will change frequency, or hops, 1,600 times in a second, between the 79 allocated channels in the ISM band.

8.  Bluetooth utilizes a spread spectrumfrequency hopping RF characteristic to ensure that
independant networking operates when the other devices are in range.

9.  A piconet is formed when one or more devices open up a channel of communication.

10.  A piconet can have a master and up to seven slaves.

11.  Communication of the interdevice is based on the concepts of channels.

12.  All Bluetooth devices are capable of transmitting voice.

13.  The channel has a total capacity of 1 MB per second.

14.  There are two types of channels with Bluetooth – SCO (Synchronous Connection Oriented) and
ACL (Asynchronous Connectionless).

15.  The SCO channels are time oriented, and are therefore primarily used for transferring time
critical data such as voice.

16.  ACL channels are normally used for communicating data.

17.  Data contained in a packet can be up to 2,745 bits in length.

18.  In a single piconet, there can be up to three SCO links containing 64,000 bits a second
each.

19.  To avoid collision and timing problems, SCO links are reserved slots that are set up by
the master.

20.  The masters can support up to three SCO links with either one, two, or three slaves.

21.  The slots that aren’t reserved for SCO links can be used as ACL links.

22.   The LMP (Link Management Protocol) will handle link level security, error corrections,
and the establishment of communications links.

23.  The LMP packets will have priority over user packets that originate and form the
L2CAP layer.

24.  The L2CAP layer will ensure an acceptable quality of service.

25.  No more than one ACL link can exist at the L2CAP layer.