Are you disgusted with the cable clutter at your office desk? Is your office or Data Center a cabling mess? Would you like to enhance the efficiency of your warehouse staff, improve deliveries and increase ROI? ‘BLUETOOTH’ can resolve your worries.
What is Bluetooth?
Bluetooth is a technology that enables wireless communication between two or more electronic devices within a certain range, replacing cables to transfer data and voice. It uses short-range radio frequency links to create an ad-hoc network called Piconet, between devices within a 10m range. Piconets are established automatically as devices enter & exit the specified range. Each device can connect to seven other devices in the Piconet simultaneously.
Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific & Medical) band and it was integrated from different features of other technologies viz. IrDA, IEEE 802.11etc, though it has its own unique features and capabilities. Bluetooth is categorized under IEEE’s definition of Personal Area Network or PAN, which refers to short-range networks. The Bluetooth design is primarily focused at achieving small size, low power consumption and low cost.
Origin & Evolution
Bluetooth has an interesting history. It is named after a Danish King and was invented at Ericsson labs in 1994, while attempting to establish wireless connectivity between their mobiles phones and headsets. Since then it has evolved considerably and has been governed by the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group), formed in 1998 by Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia & Toshiba and includes over 2500 organizations today. The SIG has been working towards defining a global standard in order to achieve interoperability between Bluetooth enabled devices from different manufacturers.
Applications
Bluetooth technology can be used across a broad spectrum of potential applications, from simple cable replacement to sophisticated networking.
Bluetooth can be used absolutely anywhere, between two devices that are within the specified range, since it does not require any proximity to access points or signal booster devices.
A traveling Salesperson can create a customer specific sales report on a laptop, onsite and email it via the cell phone to the office. Some of the other common uses of Bluetooth are,
? PC Mouse & Keyboard connected using Bluetooth wireless connection to the PC.
? Wireless printing from a PC to a Bluetooth enabled printer.
? Wireless barcode scanner used for data input in retail / warehousing applications.
And many more …
Benefits
Bluetooth has several benefits, the foremost being replacement of cables for data & voice communication. Cable clutter can be a great nuisance and hazard in offices and prove to be a nightmare for the staff.
It ensures increased mobility and easy connectivity between devices from any location.
It enables easy creation and dissolution of ad-hoc networks making it very useful for sharing information at meetings or any group activity.
And some more …
Weaknesses
The three weaknesses of Bluetooth that need to be addressed are Security, Interference and Interoperability.
Though basic security features of Bluetooth are fundamentally sound, there is a possibility of information getting intercepted by other devices. Higher security options are available though at the cost of convenience and if users prefer convenience then security is compromised, which can be dangerous.
Interoperability is an issue, since there are differences in Vendors’ implementation of Bluetooth in their devices due to some ‘gaps’ in the specification itself. The SIG & IEEE have laid stringent norms for testing & validation of products.
Microwave Ovens, Cordless phones and 802.11 b/g networking devices, which use similar shared frequencies, could interfere with Bluetooth devices. Bluetooth uses certain techniques to reduce Interference from these devices. The SIG and IEEE are carrying out research to minimize or eliminate Interference.
Competition
Though Bluetooth can be extended for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) applications its relatively slow speed make it unsuitable for the same. Bluetooth has close competition from new technologies like Wi-fi that has similar features and much better speeds, making it the preferred choice for WLAN applications. But Wi-fi consumes much more power than Bluetooth, hence cannot be used for small range and low powered, battery operated devices like PDA’s, mobile phones, cordless phones etc. Wi-fi can be used with laptops, desktops and such other devices.
Thus Bluetooth is ideal for WPAN applications and Wi-fi is more suitable for WLAN applications
Conclusion
Despite its weaknesses, which are certain to be overcome with the passage of time and the onslaught of new technologies like Wi-fi etc., Bluetooth has carved a niche for itself.
Though some industry insiders and techno-buffs have written it off, Bluetooth has evolved tremendously since birth and ‘is here to stay’!
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—About our writer:
Nitin Honaver writes for Chillibreeze.
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