Bluetooth Overview
Bluetooth
FAQ
This page contains a simple
Bluetooth Overview of FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions)
What is Bluetooth ?
When and How was it
Conceived ?
Where did the Bluetooth Name Come From ?
What is the SIG (Special Interest group) ?
What about SIG Membership ?
What about the various Specifications
v1.0, v1.1 ?
What Products are there ?
Which Companies are in the Bluetooth Market ?
Where to From Here ?
Also see:
Bluetooth
Overview & Tutorial provided by Stollmann.
Bluetooth
End to End - Download
the first chapter
for FREE!
What is
Bluetooth ?
Bluetooth is a wireless technology that enables
any electrical device to wirelessly communicate in the 2.5 GHz ISM (license
free) frequency band. It
allows devices such as mobile phones, headsets, PDA's and portable computers to
communicate and send data to each other without the need for wires or cables to
link to devices together. It has been specifically designed as a low cost, low power, radio technology, which is
particularly suited to the short range Personal Area Network (PAN) application.
(It is the design focus on low cost, low size and low power which
distinguishes it from the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN technology).
The
Main
Features of Bluetooth:
- Operates in the 2.4GHz frequency band without a license for wireless
communication.
- Real-time data transfer usually possible
between 10-100m.
- Close proximity not required as with infrared data
(IrDA) communication devices
as Bluetooth doesn't
suffer from interference from
obstacles such as walls.
- Supports both point-to-point wireless connections without cables between
mobile phones and personal computers, as well as point-to-multipoint
connections to anable ad hoc local wireless networks.
When and How was it Conceived ?
Bluetooth was originally conceived by Ericsson in 1994, when they began a study to
examine alternatives to cables that linked mobile phone accessories.
Ericsson already had a strong capability in short range wireless, having
been a key pioneer of the European DECT cordless telecommunications
standard, which had been largely based upon their earlier proprietary
DCT900 technology. Out of their
study was born the specification for Bluetooth wireless.
Where did the Name
Come From ?
Bluetooth was named
after Harald Blatand (or Bluetooth), a tenth century Danish Viking king who had united and
controlled large parts of Scandinavia which are today Denmark and Norway.
The name was chosen to highlight the potential of the technology to unify the telecommunications and
computing industries - although it was chosen as an internal codename, and it
was never at the time expected to survive as the name used in the
commercial arena - but that is another story...
What is the SIG (Special Interest group) ?
In February 1998, the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group)
was founded by a small core of major companies - IBM, Intel,
Nokia, Toshiba and Ericsson - to work together to develop the technology and to
subsequently promote its widespread commercial acceptance.
Six months later the core Promoter Members
announced publicly the global SIG and invited other companies to join, with free
access to the technology as Bluetooth
adopters in return for commitment to support the Bluetooth specification.
Adoption was rapid and 1998-1999 saw a boom in the market for Bluetooth
conference organisers, and vast amounts of hype regarding the potential of the
technology.
In December 1999 it
was announced that four more major companies had joined the SIG as Promoter Members,
viz. Microsoft, Agere Systems (then Lucent), 3Com and Motorola.
SIG Membership ?
Since its original foundation, the Bluetooth SIG has transitioned into a
not-for-profit trade association, Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Membership is open
to all companies wishing to develop, market and promote Bluetooth products at
two levels - Associate and Adopter Members.
Associate Members pay an annual membership charge of US$ 7k (companies
with annual revenues < US$ 100M, or US$ 40k for larger companies.
Asociate members may actively participate in the Working Groups and Expert
groups that help shape and define the Bluetooth technology specifications.
Adopter Membership does not carry this privilege, but is free of charge. Details of membership may be found on the SIG
website membership area.
What about the
various Specifications v1.0, v1.1 ?
Copies of the full technical specifications are still only available to SIG
members - one of the benefits of membership - however, a great deal of the
information is by now in the public domain. more information on the
technical specifics may be found on The Wireless Directory 's Technology
Page.
Products ?
Bluetooth technology is essentially an "enabling technology" - that is
it is designed to be incorporated in a very wide range of products, to allow
them to intercommunicate, rather than being a product in its own right.
Having said that, some early products include things like Compact Flash of
Dongle devices to add Bluetooth functionality into existing legacy products,
such as laptops and PDAs. The Wireless Directory provides an on-line guide to the
wide range of products available - see our Products
Index.
There are also a wide range of of Bluetooth
technology companies marketing modules, software, subsystems, chips, IP, etc -
the things that go into creating a Bluetooth-enabled product - details of these
types of products may be found in our Create
Product Index.
Which Companies are in
the Bluetooth Market ?
The answer to this is "a large number !" - but to be more precise you
may wish to check out the Company Directory,
which lists those that The Wireless Directory is aware of. We try to keep tabs on
all the players and maintain a comprehensive directory of their current
products, but in such a fast moving industry we're always running to to stay
current. So if your company is in this market space, but not yet listed,
then please let us know so
that we can add your details - this is a free service, provided for the
industry.
Where to From Here ?
The Wireless Directory is designed to provide the wireless professional (technologists and
commercial staff) with a powerful and comprehensive resource to assist in
keeping up to date with industry developments, in terms of new products,
components, learning resources, industry news, etc.
The website is structured around several such key
themes, with the information packaged accordingly, depending upon your
interests, as shown by the vertical columns on the Sitemap
Page. However, The Wireless Directory is more than a website, it is a community,
with much of our content provided by individuals working for companies whose
information you'll find here who choose to join
the community (free of charge) to contribute and to receive e-news
bulletins.
Rather than attempt to familiarise yourself with
the whole site in one sitting we suggest you start by book marking the Sitemap
Page - which you can do by simply clicking the appropriate link on the
sidebar menu - and checking out the News
Page. Then check out the rest of the site at your leisure.
|