 |
|
|
Bluetooth—Connect Without Wires
by Anonymous
Bluetooth® technology is a cutting-edge open specification that enables short-range wireless connections between desktop and notebook computers, handhelds, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, camera phones, printers, digital cameras, headsets, keyboards and even a computer mouse. Bluetooth wireless technology uses a globally available frequency band (2.4GHz) for worldwide compatibility.
In a nutshell, Bluetooth technology unplugs your digital peripherals and makes cable clutter a thing of the past. Bluetooth is wireless and automatic, and has a number of interesting features that can simplify our daily lives. Basically it is a standard developed by a group of electronics manufacturers that allows any sort of electronic equipment from computers and cell phones to keyboards and headphones to make its own connections, without wires, cables or any direct action from a user.
Bluetooth is intended to be a standard that works at two levels:
- It provides agreement at the physical level -- Bluetooth is a radio frequency standard.
- It also provides agreement at the next level up, where products have to agree on when bits are sent, how many will be sent at a time and how the parties in a conversation can be sure that the message received is the same as the message sent.
There are more than 1,000 of companies belonging to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (BSIG), and want to let Bluetooth's radio communications take the place of wires for connecting peripherals, telephones and computers.
Bluetooth communicates on a frequency of 2.45 gigahertz, which has been set aside by international agreement for the use of industrial, scientific and medical devices (ISM). A number of devices that you may already use take advantage of this same radio-frequency band. Baby monitors, garage-door openers and the newest generation of cordless phones all make use of frequencies in the ISM band. Making sure that Bluetooth and these other devices don't interfere with one another has been a crucial part of the design process.
Bluetooth does not interferes other devices
One of the ways Bluetooth devices avoid interfering with other systems is by sending out very weak signals of 1 milliwatt. By comparison, the most powerful cell phones can transmit a signal of 3 watts. The low power limits the range of a Bluetooth device to about 10 meters, cutting the chances of interference between your computer system and your portable telephone or television. Even with the low power, the walls in your house won't stop a Bluetooth signal, making the standard useful for controlling several devices in different rooms. With many different Bluetooth devices in a room, you might think they'd interfere with one another, but in reality chances are very less or even negligible.
In sum, when Bluetooth capable devices come within range of one another, an electronic conversation takes place to determine whether they have data to share or whether one needs to control the other. The user doesn't have to press a button or give a command because the electronic conversation starts automatically and immediately. Once the conversation has occurred, the devices -- whether they're part of a computer system or a stereo -- form a network. Bluetooth systems create a personal-area network (PAN), or piconet, that may fill a room or may encompass no more distance than that between the cell phone on a belt-clip and the headset on your head. Once a piconet is established, the members randomly hop frequencies in unison so they stay in touch with one another and avoid other piconets that may be operating in the same room.
This article courtesy of http://www.digitalhomepicks.com. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.