04-11-2003, 08:00 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Where Is Bluetooth?
http://wireless.ziffdavis.com/article2/0,3973,990865,00.asp
Three to four years ago, all you heard was "bluetooth this" and "bluetooth that." But it cost too much, so we waited. Now there are all sorts of bluetooth enabled devices, from earbuds to PDAs to printers. No one is buying them though. Well, we geeks are, but no one else is.
Do you think bluetooth will really take off or is it a fad that will go the way of networking computers, push technology and clamshell PDAs?
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04-11-2003, 08:11 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 120
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every so often when i'm out and about (dublin, ireland) i do a quick BT search - always find a couple of phones and sometimes a PDA or two - sure is more than over a year ago (when it was rare to find even one) - so it's taken off over this side of the atlantic 
maybe it's because the US only has a small number of BT handsets available - and (so far) only on GSM
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04-11-2003, 08:30 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 118
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For any "standard" to be successful, it must be design for and accepted by the masses.
People don't care how Cell phones work or that there are more than 9 different "standards", they just want them to work. Coverage is the key issue and then vanity.
Infrared (come on you geeks - we've all beamed data between ppc's or laptops), but why hasn't this become more prevalant?
Bluetooth is only "cool" at the most. Yes, it allows interoperability between disparate devices, but it still takes technical know-how to accomplish this.
Until it becomes universally available on all devices and the manufacturing costs come down significantly, it is still "Bluetoothless".
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04-11-2003, 08:30 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 129
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i should have saved the $60 price difference on my ipaq. i think i've used bluetooth 3 times on it. the short range is useless for networking purposes. for headsets and such it may be good..but i'm not spending big bux just to have wireless headphones. Speaking of headphones, are there real audio headphones that are BT enabled? I've never seen them...i've just seen the one-ear headphone/mic gizmo.
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04-11-2003, 08:37 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 384
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WILL
Bluetooth will take off. Why, it's primarily a replacement for cumbersome
/slow IR communication. It's really not meant to be a high-bandwidth solution. It's meant to be a way of linking a bunch of lower-bandwidth devices together.
Everyone would agree that the market is rapidly moving towards mobile devices be it laptops/tablets or cell phones, mp3 players, PocketPC and GPS devices. Everyone would also agree that networked and always connected devices and applications are becoming a trend. Everyone would also agree that battery life is also VERY important. Now everyone would also agree that Wi-Fi is a certified BATTERY KILLER as the protocol is VERY CHATTY.
In this environment, the ONLY technology that can fullfill these constraints IS BLUETOOTH. There are product-specific technologies available but they don't provide UNIVERSAL CONNECTIVITY.
Bluetooth's first greatest enemy was over-hype. It's current arch-enemy are folks constantly trying portray it as a competitor to Wi-Fi. With the current economic environment, products have been slower to trickle out. However, we're seeing steady progress. The bluetooth GPS receivers are about the best application I've seen as it truly shows off the versatility of the device since it can connect simultaneously to several devices using GPS.
It's NOT perfect YET. Duhh, most relatively new products aren't. But we're steadily seeing a move in that direction.
The Bluetooth 2.0 spec work should provide the standard with a good promise for the future. Bluetooth is just a tad bit TOO SLOW for some very logical applications. Bluetooth 2.0 should create a good compromise between high-power high performance and low-power/good performance.
Quit dinging Bluetooth. It will mature at it's own rate. I am sure of one thing, you'll NEVER see a Wi-Fi headset. :-)
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04-11-2003, 08:38 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,185
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It's articles like this one that even bring up WiFi and BT in the same story that cause confusion. There's not a bit of relevance in the comparison.
Simply, BT isn't a networking technology. It's a wire replacement technology. Call it a personal network if you must use the work network.
WiFi is a networking technology.
I for one consider it an absolute must for my devices. I will not buy any device any longer that doesn't support it.
Yes BT is a "cool" technology, but I can also remember not so long ago when I was the only person in my circle of geekdom that even knew about WiFi. WiFi wasn't an overnight success (Most things aren't) and BT is coming of age. As the previous poster mentions, there are a lot more BT signals out there now than a year ago and I suppose the same will be said in another year.
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04-11-2003, 08:38 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 67
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I need some help. I can't just go and buy all the toys
I have a decent amount of BT stuff but they can be a pain to configure for most people. It's easy for me and really cool but most people who can't even install a program without calling for help would give up on the spot.
L
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04-11-2003, 08:40 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 48
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by dbrahms
i should have saved the $60 price difference on my ipaq. i think i've used bluetooth 3 times on it. the short range is useless for networking purposes. for headsets and such it may be good..but i'm not spending big bux just to have wireless headphones. Speaking of headphones, are there real audio headphones that are BT enabled? I've never seen them...i've just seen the one-ear headphone/mic gizmo.
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I was fascinated with the idea of Bluetooth when I first heard about it and thought that it would be a real useful thing to have... but only if you can really afford it. Cell phones with Bluetooth aren't exactly inexpensive and the same goes for wireless headsets. Compatibility seems to be an issue as well, mostly when you have a vendor that provides a Bluetooth adapter but only makes it useful with their own equipment.
I also liked the idea of using a BT enabled cell phone and PDA/laptop to have a wireless Internet connection, but I've been disappointed with the cost of GPRS or other wireless cell Internet connections, or pay per-minute to get sub-4800bps (effective) over a regular GSM call.
Having a BT enabled headphone would be really nice, but only if it wouldn't interfere with WiFi or 2.4GHz cordless phones... and it had decent range. Also, I wonder how good the audio quality would be over BT since you can't exactly transfer CD-quality PCM streams over 3-4Mbps (I can't remember what the maximum one-way BT throughput is).
Just my $0.01.
__________________
PDA/Phone: Palm Treo 750
Collection: HP Jornada 568 and Palm Tungsten C
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04-11-2003, 08:48 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 81
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It will get there. Its beginning to show up in digtal cameras....slowly. Notebook manufacturers are beginning to make it an internal option, as opposed to a add-in PCMCIA option. (Dell's most recent D-series notebooks) As we all know, Dell waits until a trend develops before jumping in.
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04-11-2003, 08:50 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,185
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by questionlp
Compatibility seems to be an issue as well, mostly when you have a vendor that provides a Bluetooth adapter but only makes it useful with their own equipment.
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You mean like how a SE phone works with an iPaq? Or a SE phone works with an iBook? Or a Motorola headset works with a SE phone? Or... :evil:
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