Generally what is better: Bluetooth or Wifi?

[Vasant56]

Ok, I'm a total BT/WiFi newbie. All I really know is that they allow for wireless data transfer and such. I was wondering the difference between the two, and what makes one superior to the other. Also, are they compatible with eachother?

Any links you can provide would be nice too (although I like a "2nd person perspective").


THANKS

[JustMe]

The two cannot be compared directly.

Think of bluetooth as infrared without the line of sight restriction. meant to replace the clutter of cables.

WiFi - ethernet network connections without the cables.

Sure they're both wireless technologies, but they have distinct and different purposes as well as advantages over the other.

JM

Some links:
What is bluetooth http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci211680,00.html

WiFi http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci838865,00.html

[Sven Johannsen]

WiFi tastes great, but BT is less filling. As has been mentioned, they are different technologies to solve different problems. They can be used interchangeably for some things, just as you can use a hammer to drive in a screw, but they each have their niche.

WiFi is wireless network, BT is wireless cable/wire. The connections between your desktops and the server and router is the network. Replace it with WiFi. The connection between you PC and printer, your Cell phone and earpiece is wire between to devices. Replace it with BT.

Your network joins things in different rooms, WiFi. Your wires join things that are on different parts of your desk, BT.

Can I hook two PCs together with an ethernet cable and just have them talk to each other? Sure I can, but that is not what that network technology was intended for. Can I get a BT hub and 'network' several devices together? Sure, but that is nor what that technology was designed for.

No, they are not compatible with each other, though they do co-exist. The choice depends on the requirement. The major selling point of BT is it's lower power consumption...at the expense of range. The advantage of WiFi is it's greater acceptance and availability.

Personally, I would only consider BT if the device of concern has it built in. My 2215 has it, so adding a BT capability to my desktop made sense. If your phone has it, a BT headset may make sense. I've found adding BT, aftermarket to two devices that don't have it is a good way to raise your blood pressure.

[Thinkingmandavid]

bt uses less battery on your ppc, wi fi more..
wi fi is more restricted in places of usage, such as at starbuck, hotels, airports.
bt in connection with your cell phone can be used in more places. simply driving your car, though I recommend letting someone else connect for you while you are driving. :wink:
if you have both then you have more option, but for the most part we dont have an all in one technology as of yet!?

[JustinGTP]

Yep, they both have totally two different uses, characterized both as wireless.

:D :D

-Justin.

[Vasant56]

Thanks for the help guys.

I have a question about range, though. What's the normal max range for a bluetooth or wifi device?

[Sven Johannsen]

Thanks for the help guys.

I have a question about range, though. What's the normal max range for a bluetooth or wifi device?

With a 1KW Linear amp, or out of the box? :) Generally the accepted ranges thrown about are 30' for BT and 300' for WiFi.

There are various classes of BT that have differring ranges, but they do the longer ranges at the expense of power consumption. Small portable devices tend to use the shorter range specs to capitalize on the lower power requirements.

[JvanEkris]

Thanks for the help guys.

I have a question about range, though. What's the normal max range for a bluetooth or wifi device?

With a 1KW Linear amp, or out of the box? :) Generally the accepted ranges thrown about are 30' for BT and 300' for WiFi.

There are various classes of BT that have differring ranges, but they do the longer ranges at the expense of power consumption. Small portable devices tend to use the shorter range specs to capitalize on the lower power requirements.Not quite.
Bluetooth has 3 classes: Class 1 = 100 meters open field (=300 feet if i'm not mistaken) Class 2 = 50 meters open field Class 3 = 10 meters open field.Only PDA having a Class 1 device is a Loox 600. All other PDA's generally have a class 2 device. When you are in a closed building, ranges shrink about 50% (this is the same as WiFi, so no real difference there).

There is a big difference in behaviour between BT and WiFi. When you bring a PDA and it's counterpart (WiFi Access Point or a BT Cellular Phone) closer together, a WiFi transmitter will increase speed, while a Bluetooth device will reduce power-consumption automatically (so when you are in close range, a BT-Class 1 device behaves like a Class 3).

So basically, as long as you don't search for other devices, power consumption of a class 3 device equals a class 1 device in simular circumstances (the first tests at Firstloox (www.firstloox.org) confirmed that in practice as well).

Jaap

[David Prahl]

I don't have experience with BT, but I do use wi-fi (or 802.11b) at home and find it all over the place.

Brief thoughts on BT:
People who use it either like it or don't like it. It seems to work well for short-range syncing or PPC-to-phone applications. There's a lot of discussion now asking if BT is "dead" or not. It's having problems, but the concept is solid.

Brief thoughts on wi-fi:
Setting up 802.11b wireless is a piece of cake - perhaps easier than 10/100 Ethernet. Plug in the router or card and it JUST WORKS! Security has always been a problem, but the range is better than BT. In my house I can yell to family members about as far as I can get a good signal.

I was visiting a college this week and spent the night in a hotel. The had free wireless in the lobby. I popped my wireless card into my Pocket PC, it found the network in about 15 second, and I was checking E-Mail within 30 seconds. There's wireless in many places, and I sometimes scan for networks while I'm driving or walking. About 80 % are NOT secure.

If you want to get e-mail and internet access on your PPC, I suggest using wi-fi. BT is still a growing standard, and it needs some work.

[hoxbox]

So WiFi on a PocketPC phone is pretty much redundant since you'll be surfing via your cell phone carrier?

[hollis_f]

So WiFi on a PocketPC phone is pretty much redundant since you'll be surfing via your cell phone carrier?Not really. As everybody says, they're two technologies with different advantages.

If you had a PPCPE with both WiFi and BT built in then you could surf using whichever was the best option at the time. If you were near a WiFi hotspot (like the one you may have setup at home) you could use the WiFi for surfing at much higher speeds than would be possible with BT/GPRS.

Where the latter comes into its own is when you're not near an accessible WiFi access point.

So WiFi is fast, but can only be used in limited locations.

BT/GPRS is slower, but can be used throughout most of Europe (the US is a bit behind in coverage).

[JvanEkris]

True,

I use a Bluetooth hotspot (extended my server with a Bluetooth Dongle), and i can use it around the house. Speeds aren't super, but acceptable. I have a WiFi router as well, but the energy-consumption of a WiFi card stops me from using it on my PocketPC. I do use it on my Laptop however, where a lot of speed is required.

One of the great things about Bluetooth is, in my opinion, the fact that it replaces more than just the network-cable. Like Hollis_f said, walking out of range of your home-network, GPRS through a BT-enabled hone is very pleasant. I also use it for my bluetooth enabled GPS unit, which is quite practical when walking in large cities.

IMHO, it is a matter of choice between the dedicated speed and Range of WiFi and flexibility and conservative energy-consumption of bluetooth.

Jaap

[hoxbox]

So WiFi on a PocketPC phone is pretty much redundant since you'll be surfing via your cell phone carrier?Not really. As everybody says, they're two technologies with different advantages.

If you had a PPCPE with both WiFi and BT built in then you could surf using whichever was the best option at the time. If you were near a WiFi hotspot (like the one you may have setup at home) you could use the WiFi for surfing at much higher speeds than would be possible with BT/GPRS.

Where the latter comes into its own is when you're not near an accessible WiFi access point.

So WiFi is fast, but can only be used in limited locations.

BT/GPRS is slower, but can be used throughout most of Europe (the US is a bit behind in coverage).

Ahh ok. Hmm time to practice sitting on my behind and wait for the mythical iPaq 6000 :twisted:

[David Prahl]

So WiFi on a PocketPC phone is pretty much redundant since you'll be surfing via your cell phone carrier?

Well a cell phone connection is different. With a PPC Phone your connection would probably be slower and more expensive, but you could access the web and E-Mail almost anywere.

Wireless is (usually) free, but has a limited range and is only available in some areas. Keep in mind that just because you can get on a network doesn't mean the owner would like you to.

Think of wi-fi this way: It's like a cordless telephone. Similar range and performance, except you're connected to the web and every "phone" (PPC, laptop, router) can talk to every "phone".

[PetiteFlower]

I would say that it's BT that's not needed on a PPC phone, not wifi.

[PetiteFlower]

But then again, you still might want BT to connect to a headset withm forgot about that :)