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View Full Version : Bluetooth is so-o-o slo-o-o-w!

noskill
10-26-2003, 03:04 PM
Guys,

I have iPaq 2215 + Siemens S55 + Mitsumi USB-Bluetooth dongle.

I've established ActiveSync and LAN BT connection with my desktop PC. I've read in this forum, that approx. speed of Bluetooth is something near 700Kbps (that's 87KB/sec). However, what I got is ~10KB/sec :(

I tried placing iPaq near dongle - but that hasn't resulted in speed improvement.

What I'm doing wrong? How to improve Bluetooth speed?
Mitchybums
10-26-2003, 05:12 PM
most likely you use bluetooth lan access over ppp. this is default set to 19200bps. you can set this on ppc and desktop to 115200bps, but it wont do much. There is not realy a way to make it faster.

I'm giving up bluetooth and shelf some money out for wifi instead.

OK, I just managed to give my Ambicom Bluetooth Adapter new life.
I setup a RedHat 9 server with it atached to it, and I use that machine now as a LAN ACCESS POINT.
I just did a speed test on some att website, and it did a text test by downloading the text of a book to my pocketpc (the graphic one needed a full javascript thing, and it failed)
I managed to get 300kbs
I also went to the wifi section of windowsmedia (was in favorite on ppc)
AND WATCHED THE TRAILER OF FREDDY VS JASON.
Overall browsing went up pretty good too.
NICE

So it's possible to get more speed out of bluetooth.
noskill
10-26-2003, 05:27 PM
Wifi... It's such a battery sucker! :roll:
WyattEarp
10-26-2003, 06:17 PM
Unfortunately most wireless technologies use lots of power. There really isn't any around it; even with devices made for PDAs. What it really boils down to is which type is going to serve your needs best. WiFi is much better for syncing but you could also try IR if you really don't want to do WiFi.
noskill
10-26-2003, 06:29 PM
Unfortunately most wireless technologies use lots of power. There really isn't any around it; even with devices made for PDAs. What it really boils down to is which type is going to serve your needs best. WiFi is much better for syncing but you could also try IR if you really don't want to do WiFi.

Hm-m... I have BT, why should I resort to IR?

BT speed is already enough for sync; but BT-LAN is a bit slow - you can hear that when listening .mp3's through it.
WyattEarp
10-26-2003, 07:36 PM
None, except to have another choice. It's what I used before there was BT or wifi for PPCs.
freitasm
10-26-2003, 11:38 PM
That's probably a Pocket PC issue. I use Bluetooth here, and when I have my laptop connected to my Bluetooth LAN Access Point I'm able to stream video from the internet - without interruptions.

However, using my Pocket PC I can't watch the same video. I blame on the slower hardware, not Bluetooth.
noskill
10-26-2003, 11:57 PM
You must be joking. It is fast enough to play videos (say, from CF), but slow at the same time with BT? You really mean this?
surur
10-27-2003, 12:03 AM
Thats what I thought until I saw this thread (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=177234) which discribes better results with a different bluetooth access point. Some-one should investigate this...

Surur
DrtyBlvd
10-27-2003, 12:44 AM
Strange - I BT with no probs whatsoever - streaming et al is fine - and AS is pretty snappy too...

Paq 55 / TDK Dongle, Linksys WiFi to the PC...
JonnoB
10-27-2003, 02:00 AM
Wifi... It's such a battery sucker! :roll:

Not really. Depending on use, and a good card, power is adjusted accordingly. A WiFi card at 2mb does not take much more power than BT useage.
freitasm
10-27-2003, 05:19 AM
You must be joking. It is fast enough to play videos (say, from CF), but slow at the same time with BT? You really mean this?

The problem is not the video player. The problem is how Bluetooth is implemented on Pocket PCs, using the Serial UART for communication (unless they've changed it in the latest H4150/4350 which are now using the Texas Instruments chipset).

So, the original question was "poor network performance with Bluetooth" and my answer was "On my laptop I can stream videos from the internet ok, and on my Pocket PC the performance is not the same", and this is to show that the problem is not Bluetooth per se, since it works fine on a full blown laptop, but the implementation.

Windows Media Player on Pocket PC is fine.
freitasm
10-27-2003, 05:22 AM
Strange - I BT with no probs whatsoever - streaming et al is fine - and AS is pretty snappy too...

Paq 55 / TDK Dongle, Linksys WiFi to the PC...

Of course - and in my opinion the TDK is the best Bluetooth adapter in the market.
noskill
10-27-2003, 11:16 AM
Guys, can you test your BT AS speed with Spb Benchmark? I will test mine tonight and post results here.

Let's investigate this problem further.
surur
10-27-2003, 03:10 PM
Ive just upgraded my drivers from 1.3.27 (i think) to 1.4.2.10, and my speed between the pocketpc and desktop on ftp doubled from 10kb/sec to 22.7 kb/sec. Not exactly 80kb/sec, but much improved, and it may even make streaming possible. So definitely worth a try.

Surur
noskill
10-27-2003, 08:14 PM
Ive just upgraded my drivers from 1.3.27 (i think) to 1.4.2.10, and my speed between the pocketpc and desktop on ftp doubled from 10kb/sec to 22.7 kb/sec. Not exactly 80kb/sec, but much improved, and it may even make streaming possible. So definitely worth a try.

Surur

Ha, I have 1.2.9.9 drivers... Going for update...