Did you know that Bluetooth was named after a Danish king who had a thing for blueberries? However, in the hi-tech world of computers and mobile phones, Bluetooth is actually a type of wireless technology that was developed in the 1990s.
Bluetooth uses low-frequency radio waves (2.4GHz) that allow electrical devices to share documents, music, files, and even connect to the internet. These devices must be in a fairly close radius to each other, and both must be Bluetooth enabled.
One of the biggest advantages of a Bluetooth mobile phone is that it can act as a medium to connect your laptop to the internet via tethering. This is when your phone effectively becomes a modem sending the internet signal through its Bluetooth connection to your computer. A Bluetooth enabled laptop can then receive the signal and connect to the internet. This is really handy when you are on business travel and need consistent access to email or work files.
Wireless connections are central to our daily life and work patterns. As such, Bluetooth is a cheap and efficient means of connecting phones, laptops, printers, a mouse, PDAs, scanners and digital cameras. Moreover, it allows you to sync your Bluetooth mobile phone with your car and talk to your friends via the car’s speakers (without using the handset)!
A good portion of mobile phones on the market is now Bluetooth compatible, and most Bluetooth devices are compatible with previous versions of Bluetooth. There are different types of Bluetooth depending on what you need the technology to do.
Bluetooth technology comes in the following models:
• File transfer profile (FTP): transfer files between Bluetooth devices.
• Basic imaging profile (BIP): transfer of images between Bluetooth devices, and facilitates editing and printing of images.
• Advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP): streams music between Bluetooth devices.
• Audio/Video remote control profile (AVRCP): allows a single device to control the TV, audio equipment and other devices.
• Hands-free profile (HFP): connection to hands-free devices.
• Human interface device profile (HID): links a mouse and keyboard to computers and laptops with Bluetooth.
With rapid advances in technology, a much faster wireless technology has recently emerged and overshadowed Bluetooth. Today, the latest wireless (Wi-Fi) networks use high frequency radio waves making them run 20 times faster than that of Bluetooth technology.
In general, ‘Wireless networks’ are basically any web of inter-connected computer systems operating without wires. Just like variations of Bluetooth technology, there are also different types of wireless networks:
• Wireless LAN (Wireless Local Area Network) is perhaps the most well known type of wireless network and is often referred to as Wi-Fi, which stands for Wireless Fidelity. Wi-Fi technology can connect multiple electrical devices such as a laptop, a mobile phone, a PDA, or an MP3 player to the internet.
• Wireless PAN (Wireless Personal Area Networks) technology is for devices within a small radius, such as Bluetooth compatible mobile phones and computers.
• Wireless WAN (Wireless Wide Area Networks) technology can connect devices in large areas, such as office blocks and/or the public internet system.
• Wireless MAN (Wireless Metropolitan area networks), which links up multiple Wireless WANs.
The majority of mobile phones available include some kind of wireless technology, and a limited number include both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, such as the Nokia N95 mobile phone available on Telstra mobile phone plans, or the Apple iPhone 3GS 8GB, which is found on Vodafone and 3Mobile phone plans.
It is important to check the specs for each mobile phone and decide what kind of technology you need before you purchase anything. To help with your research, the Compare Mobile Plans website has a wealth of information regarding mobile phone technology and specs for a huge range of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled handsets.