What is Bluetooth?

What is Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that allows computers, phones and other devices to talk to each other over short distances (up to 100 metres). Bluetooth uses radio waves (in the 2.4 Gigahertz range), and is designed to be a secure and inexpensive way of connecting and exchanging information between devices without wires.

You'll find Bluetooth in many of the newer mobile phones, handheld computers, laptops, printers, handheld organisers, as well as in all sorts of products.

Uses of Bluetooth include: sending photos from your mobile, exchanging business cards, sending voice from a headset to a mobile phone, and real-time satellite navigation using GPS.

This page provides some basic information on what Bluetooth has to offer, plus links to Bluetooth products.

Using Bluetooth

Bluetooth offers a great way of exchanging data between devices. Here are the advantages:

•           Cable-free, so less messy leads to worry about

•           Interoperability - In most cases, you can use your portable Bluetooth device to connect with other existing Bluetooth points, without having to carry a data lead and CD of drivers around with you

Here's an example of some of the things you can do with Bluetooth:

•           Transfer files (such as mp3s and photos) to and from your mobile

•           A wire-free headset for your mobile

•           Backup your PDA or mobile to your PC

•           Use a Bluetooth GPS device for satellite navigation on your mobile phone, PDA or laptop.

Bluetooth software:

•           The good news is that if you have Bluetooth hardware in your mobile phone, PDA, GPS or headset, you probably won't need to worry about installing special Bluetooth drivers - the software is built-in and ready for use. If connecting to a PC, you may need to install Bluetooth drivers, although newer version of Windows XP and Vista come with Bluetooth drivers that can be used with some plug-and-play Bluetooth hardware, so there's less messing around.

Bluetooth was originally developed by mobile phone company Ericsson in 1994. Looking for a unique name for the technology, they settled on "Bluetooth" after a tenth century viking king called Harald "Bluetooth" Blatand. During his reign, he united Denmark and Norway, and was well known for his ability to help people communicate. Presumably, Ericsson's hope was that Bluetooth technology could do the same.

In order to 'pair' one Bluetooth device to another, a passcode has to be exchanged between the two devices. When you first connect, one machine will ask you to enter a passcode... enter any 4 digit number. The other device will then ask you for a passcode. Enter the same 4 digit number. It doesn't matter what the passcode is, as long as you enter the same number at both ends.

If you have a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone, then you can use Bluetooth to beam your photos and other objects from your phone to a PC or laptop. You'll need to have Bluetooth on your PC (if it doesn't already have Bluetooth, see our other FAQ on this). With Bluetooth switched on on both the phone and PC, you need to 'pair' the two machines, and then you can use the software on the phone and PC to transfer files.

Bluetooth-enabled phones include the Series 60 range of smartphones (such as the Nokia 6680), as well as Windows Mobile phones such as the o2 XDA Orbitb If you want to add Bluetooth functionality to your PC or laptop, the best bet is to buy yourself a Bluetooth USB adapter that plugs into a spare USB port on your PC. We recommend the Belkin USB Bluetooth adapter available for around £12. This comes with the software needed to get a Windows 98 SE, Me, 2000, XP or Vista PC enabled with Bluetooth.

Bluetooth is not to be mistaken for wi-fi (wireless networking) - Bluetooth runs at a lower speed and power than wi-fi.  Bluetooth and WiFi are both radio technologies, but they differ in the frequencies and protocols that they use. They don't interfere with each other, but the two don't talk to each other either - in other words you can't get a device with Bluetooth to communicate to a device that only supports WiFi. There seem to be a number of security concerns about Bluetooth - should I be worried?