Bluetooth usage (pls enlighten me...)

[radioflyer7]

I've been using my iPaq 2215 for a while and now for the first time I really want to take advantage of the bluetooth capability. Could you tell me whether this is currently possible:

- Bluetooth connection to a cellphone to use as a modem. I don't need this enough to want to carry around an XDA but could certainly use it on occasions.

- Bluetooth connection to a cellphone to use as a speaker phone. I know they sell specific BT speakerphone. But who wants to tote around another thing? Is this possible?

- Bluetooth connection to a car stereo (or an add-on unit) so I can broadcast music to the car wirelessly.

Any insight would be appreciated. Even if this means I may have to get a different PPC, I am willing to consider that.
Thanks,
Steven

[Sven Johannsen]

I've been using my iPaq 2215 for a while and now for the first time I really want to take advantage of the bluetooth capability. Could you tell me whether this is currently possible:

- Bluetooth connection to a cellphone to use as a modem. I don't need this enough to want to carry around an XDA but could certainly use it on occasions.

Absolutely. Caveat is that the cell phone generally has to have a data capability of some sort. That can either be a GPRS data plan, or the ability to dial a modem equiped PC and act as a modem itself.

- Bluetooth connection to a cellphone to use as a speaker phone. I know they sell specific BT speakerphone. But who wants to tote around another thing? Is this possible?

Haven't heard of anything like this. It would require the PPC to act as a headset. Typically the headset profile, if included, lets you use a headset with the PPC.

- Bluetooth connection to a car stereo (or an add-on unit) so I can broadcast music to the car wirelessly.

Again, haven't heard of this. You would require a higher quality audio profile than most PPCs currently have. To date only HP and Toshiba have supported the Advanced Audio Digital Profile (A2DP) that lets you use a pair of BT stereo headsets with specific PPCs. The Radio would have to support this as well.

I do believe Bluetake makes some BT audio stuff that would do what you want, but it invloves a BT transmitter box that gets plugged into the PPC headphone out, and a receiver that gets plugged into your radio.

Any insight would be appreciated. Even if this means I may have to get a different PPC, I am willing to consider that.
Thanks,
Steven

[waterboy]

Bluetooth connection to a car stereo (or an add-on unit) so I can broadcast music to the car wirelessly.


One solution available is not bluetooth, it's an FM transmitter such as the iRock! 450FM. I have one on order, to be delivered today. I'll let you know how it works. Reportedly works well with any device having a headphone jack.

http://www.myirock.com/players/irock450fm.asp

[JvanEkris]

Bluetooth connection to a cellphone to use as a speaker phone. I know they sell specific BT speakerphone. But who wants to tote around another thing? Is this possible?Yes it is possible with specific implementations of the BT-stack. AFAIK, the HP22xx series does NOT have this profile on-board. A much nicer solution is to use a BT headset, and dial from the pocketpc and let the headset take over from there. A 2210 is not optimized for use as a telephone: the microphone and speaker are not positioned well.

Bluetooth connection to a car stereo (or an add-on unit) so I can broadcast music to the car wirelessly.Although techically possible, i would not advise it. There are hardware-solutions (plug in through the headphones jack) that do a much better job. The transfer rate of bluetooth is not so good that you are capable of transfering stereo sound.

Jaap

[Menneisyys]

- Bluetooth connection to a cellphone to use as a speaker phone. I know they sell specific BT speakerphone. But who wants to tote around another thing? Is this possible?


Unfortunately, it's not even possible with the latest high-end devices, let alone the relatively outdated 2210. Check out for example http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=115458 on this subject.

[Menneisyys]

Bluetooth connection to a car stereo (or an add-on unit) so I can broadcast music to the car wirelessly.

It's highly unlikely that your car stereo knows the High-Quality Audio BT profile. And, if it really does, then, your 2210 doesn't and won't. Broadcom (Widcom) is working on a generic BT stack upgrade (see e.g. http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36594 on it) that makes the latest crop of PDA's support the High-Quality Audio BT profile. The 2210 won't be supported.

[radioflyer7]

Thank you all for your insight. I know some new cars come with BT phone integration and some come with an iPod hardware plug in. But I am not ready to buy a new car for my gadget itch just yet... While many look for a simple PDA solution, I am actually holding out on a harddrve device with all the good stuff in one relatively small box! You know, music player, phone, high-res GPS, movie player, etc. But that's another thread. Thanks again to all of you.

Steven