King Bluetooth: The name behind the Bluetooth technology

It’s a short-range communications technology that replaces the cables connecting portable or fixed devices while maintaining high levels of security. The key features of Bluetooth technology are robustness, low power, and low cost. The Bluetooth Specification defines a uniform structure for a wide range of devices to connect and communicate with each other

Technological development has reached to a point where devices which are still connected via cables or wires are outdated. And this wireless technology has given a new term called “Bluetooth”. This term is not new to most of us, rather we often use this technology in our day-today life to transfer information and files. This technology is a short-range wireless radio technology that allows electronic devices to connect to one another. The term Bluetooth has a small story behind it that justify its not so usual name that is the developers of this wireless technology first used the name "Bluetooth" as a code name, but as time past, the name stuck. The word "Bluetooth" is actually taken from the 10th century Danish King Harald Bluetooth. King Bluetooth had been influential in uniting Scandinavian Europe during an era when the region was torn apart by wars and feuding clans. Bluetooth technology was first developed in Scandinavia and able to unite differing industries such as the cell phone, computing, and automotive markets. Bluetooth wireless technology simplifies and combines multiple forms of wireless communication into a single, secure, low-power, low-cost, globally available radio frequency.
Bluetooth technology make connections just like cables connect a computer to a keyboard, mouse, or printer, or how a wire connects an MP3 player to headphones, but does it without the cables and wires. With Bluetooth there is no more worrying about which cable goes where, while getting tangled in the mess.
Bluetooth is a packet-based protocol with a master-slave structure. Connections between Bluetooth enabled electronic devices allow these devices to communicate wirelessly through short-range, ad hoc networks known as piconets. Each device in a piconet can also simultaneously communicate with up to seven other devices within that single piconet and each device can also belong to several piconets simultaneously. This means the ways in which you can connect your Bluetooth devices is almost limitless.
Bluetooth actually is one of the secure ways to connect and exchange information between devices such as faxes, mobile phones, telephones, laptops, personal computers, printers, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, digital cameras, and video game consoles.
Bluetooth uses a radio technology called frequency-hopping spread spectrum, which chops up the data being sent and transmits chunks of it on up to 79 bands of 1 MHz width in the range 2402-2480 MHz. This is in the globally unlicensed Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) 2.4 GHz short-range radio frequency band.
Bluetooth technology’s adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) capability was designed to reduce interference between wireless technologies sharing the 2.4 GHz spectrum. AFH works within the spectrum to take advantage of the available frequency. This is done by the technology detecting other devices in the spectrum and avoiding the frequencies they are using. This adaptive hopping among 79 frequencies at 1 MHz intervals gives a high degree of interference immunity and also allows for more efficient transmission within the spectrum.
Bluetooth range may vary depending on class of radio used in an implementation like, Class 3 radios (up to 1 meter or 3 feet), Class 2 radios, most commonly found in mobile devices (10 meters or 33 feet) and Class 1 radios, used primarily in industrial use cases (100 meters or 300 feet).
Wireless Nature
There are tons of benefits of using wireless devices. In addition to improving safety as a result of eliminating the clutter of wires and associated hazardous connections, wireless technology also offers many convenient advantages. For example, when you are traveling with your laptop, PDA, MP3 player and other devices, you no longer have to worry about bringing along all of your connecting cables.
Inexpensive
Bluetooth technology is pocket friendly for companies to implement, which results in lower over-all manufacturing Costs and the ultimate benefit goes to the consumers. The end result: Bluetooth devices are relatively inexpensive.
Automatic
The usage is very simple and one doest have to harass them in order to get it connected. When two or more Bluetooth devices enter a range (Up to 30 feet) of one another, they automatically begin to communicate without you having to do anything. Once the communicating begins, Bluetooth devices will setup Personal Area Networks or Piconets.
Standardized Protocol
Since Bluetooth is a standardized wireless specification, a high level of compatibility among devices is guaranteed. The Bluetooth specification uses and defines various profiles. Every Bluetooth profile is specific to a particular function. For instance, when a Bluetooth enabled cell phone and a Bluetooth headset (Both with the same profile) are communicating with one another, both will understand each other without the user having to do anything, even if the devices are of different models/makes.
Low Interference
Bluetooth devices avoid interference with other wireless devices by Using a technique known as spread-spectrum frequency hopping, and Using low power wireless signals.
Low Energy Consumption
Bluetooth uses low power signals. As a result, the technology requires little energy and will therefore use less battery or electrical power.
Share Voice and Data
The Bluetooth standard allows compatible devices to share both voice and data communications. For example, a Bluetooth enabled cell phone is capable of sharing voice communications with a compatible Bluetooth headset; nevertheless, the same cell phone may also be capable of establishing a GPRS connection to the Internet. Then, using Bluetooth, the phone can connect to a laptop. The result: The laptop is capable of surfing the web or sending and receiving email.
Control
Unless a device is already paired to your device, you have the option to accept or reject the connection and file transfer. This prevents unnecessary or infected files from unknown users from transferring to your device.
Instant Personal Area Network (PAN)
Up to seven compatible Bluetooth devices can connect to one another within proximity of up to 30 feet, forming a PAN or piconet. Multiple piconets can be automatically setup for a single room.
Upgradeable
The Bluetooth standard is upgradeable. A development group, Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is responsible to offers several new advantages and is backward compatible with the older versions.
Bluetooth has several positive aspects and it’s difficult to find the downside of it, but there are still sum areas that need the attention. Like other communication technologies, Bluetooth also facing the issue of privacy and identity theft. But these issues are easily combatable, and various measures are already in place to provide for the secure use of Bluetooth technology.
Bluetooth has a shortcoming when it comes to file sharing speed. Compared to the up to 4.0MBps rate transfer of infrared, Bluetooth can only reach up to 1.0MBps, meaning that it transfers files slowly. In transferring or sharing larger files at a closer distance, other wireless technology like infrared is better.
With features like handy, portable, sophisticated, easy to handle and connected through some wireless mechanism, Bluetooth can be considered as a future technology that is going to sustain in the market for long.