FOR SOME TIME NOW, I have discussed with those in the industry the void of market movement in the 56K Bluetooth modem space. So for that reason, it was especially positive to see that there were beginning signs for such products at the recent Blue-tooth Congress 2002. Two were shown at the CSR and Zeevo booths. It is looking like dial-up Bluetooth access points (AP) could be under the Christmas tree this year for the North American market.

The dial-up Bluetooth ALP will address the mass consumer market that does not want to spend $45 to $55 per month on a continual basis for broadband but is willing to spend a reasonable, onetime outlay for the benefits of untethered surfing and printing from their couch without installing a WLAN home network. If advertised and marketed aggressively enough, this could help to increase consumers’ knowledge of the benefits of products that offer Bluetooth cordless functionality then translate that knowledge into revenue. If not advertised and promoted effectively, these products could be slow to take off.

A greater level of consumer awareness of what Bluetooth is and what benefits it offers is the key to unlocking the box of consumer demand. Though knowledge is increasing, the low level of familiarity of Bluetooth by the average consumer is ensuring that mobile phone operators are still not feeling the consumer demand for Bluetooth-enabled handsets. Nokia and Motorola are very common phones in the United States, but Ericsson is not. Sony Ericsson has been the most aggressive Bluetooth-enabled handset manufacturer to date, but there has not been a significant push or driver thus far in the United States.

Since operators subsidize so many phones, it is necessary for them to see some benefit to offering Bluetooth-enabled phones to their subscribers. So they need to reap a return in terms of customer loyalty (for lower churn), obtaining new subscribers, or revenue. Driver safety alone could be a significant trump card in offering subscribers additional benefits. If operators begin to bundle mobile phones and Bluetooth headsets in an aggressive manner, in conjunction with a marketing campaign targeting hands-free use in vehicles for safety, demand could increase quickly.

On the acquisition front, comments were recently flying around regarding the acquisition of Ericsson Microelectronics by Infineon Technologies. The deal is expected to close in about two months. Infineon gains the module business via Ericsson, inroads to supplying semiconductors into wireless infrastructure and a supplementary customer list. Previously, STMicroelectronics began its acquisition of the wireline and wireless groups of Alcatel Microelectronics, while American Microsystems Inc. began its acquisition of Alcatel Micro’s mixed signal group. The acquisitions of Ericsson Microelectronics and Alcatel Microelectronics do not directly affect current market shares of Bluetooth chipsets.

Recent announcements by Texas Instruments for a $4 (BOM) Bluetooth solution via a ROM-based single chip and by Infineon Technologies for sub-$3.75 pricing (both high volumes) have set a new bar. Both use leading 0.13-micron RE CMOS processes, and volume production is planned for Q12003. Philips Semiconductors announced an affiance with Ericsson Technology Licensing for audio/video solutions. For space-constrained applications, Motorola will go into production in Q4 with a stacked chipset die solution in a 7mm-by-7mm-by-1.6mm BGA package. The price will be the same for the company’s separate radio and baseband.

Coexistence solutions were demonstrated by Silicon Wave (Blue802) and Zeevo (alternate wireless media access, or AWMA). Neither is based on the not-yet-finalized adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) scheme. These mechanisms are geared especially toward the PC market since the front-end can get overloaded in co-located situations (such as a laptop), which can still present a problem with AFH. The first coexistence solutions to hit the shelves are expected in the next six to nine months.

In-Stat/MDR estimates Bluetooth chipset shipments will climb from 10.4 million units in 2001 to 48 million this year, growing to 150 million in 2003.

Joyce Putcher is director and principal analyst of InStat/MDR’s Converging Markets & Technologies Group. She can be reached at jputscher@instat.com. InStat/MDR owned by Reed Business Information, the parent company of Electronic News.

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The world we live in gets easily bored and craves novelty. Smart marketers look for new ways to put a twist on old standby marketing and advertising techniques. Marketing through television and radio channels has been done to death and has more nuisance value than anything else as far as the audience is concerned.

For marketers seeking new ways and means to expand their reach anywhere their prospects are — the future is here. Smart marketers and advertisers create a personal touch in their ad campaigns. This is one of the reasons why mobile advertising is rapidly increasing in popularity as an effective marketing tool. And the astonishing use of mobile devices leveraged this trend.

There are over 1.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide according to the International Telecommunications Union with the highest growth percentage coming from emerging economies like China, Russia and India. The US has about 200 million mobile subscribers. Smart marketers are tapping into the potential to reach their prospects as they’re on the move. Mobile devices are practically a permanent attachment for people under age 34.

Mobile Advertising is delivered in a number of formats. Text messaging, mobile internet advertising and mobile radio advertising are some of the common advertising formats. Out of these, text messaging (SMS) is the most widely used format.

According to the joint Mobile Advertising Report (MAR) released by Limbo and GfK Technology, text message usage is about 74% in India, 48% in the UK and 22% in the US. Projections predict in the near future mobile internet advertising will surpass text message advertising (FierceWireless).

In June 2008, Nokia launched the Nokia Advertising Alliance that aims to make mobile advertising easier for advertisers. This particular program includes services like providing marketing strategies, geographic targeting and related technologies to enhance customer captivation. Now advertisers can work in conjunction with Nokia to expand the coverage of mobile advertising with emerging mobile technologies for more powerful ad promotions.

The best part about mobile marketing is mobile devices are more heavily used than traditional PCs. Mobile advertisements are delivered to the customer no matter where they are. Even with these advantages, mobile advertising is still in its “early adopter” stages with a long way to go. The main obstacles are in the form of data tariff structures, handset and mobile internet interactivity and quality of subject matter.

Like the early days of the Internet, there are more advertisers than quality content. Add to that an acute lack of tools to assess the performance of mobile ad campaigns. Even though most of these difficulties will be solved in the future, mobile advertising will still face competition from other advertising and marketing methods. Google, Microsoft and Nokia are the prominent players in mobile advertising. The future holds a huge potential in terms of revenues from mobile advertising.

According to a report released by Informa Telecoms & Media, it is estimated that mobile advertising will generate USD 1.72 billion in 2008 and will rise to USD 12 billion in 2013. The report also advocates the use of banner ads as an effective tool in mobile advertising. The report highlights the significance of focusing on the long run and not the short term stumbling blocks.

Yahoo jumped on the bandwagon in June 2008 when it partnered with Publicis to integrate Publicis mobile advertising agency (PhoneValley) with Yahoo’s mobile developer platform language (Blueprint). The partnership is aimed at developing brands, reaching customers and maximizing sales through new techniques. It also aims to initiate cutting edge advertising strategies in the future.

Since the potential market for mobile advertising is huge, a few companies are exploring new horizons and expanding in new territory. For example, Millenial Media Inc., is venturing into Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Millenial develops ads for cell-phones and mobiles. Its CEO Paul Palmieri says “There is a tremendous growth opportunity for mobile advertising on a global basis, as evidenced by a rich and active mobile direct marketing industry, as well as surging demand from top brand advertisers.”

The media industry and brand advertisers are slowly catching on and making use of mobile advertising to increase market penetration. Mobile advertising has added support from applications like ringtones and pictures. Bluetooth advertising is also growing in popularity. Here, a company can advertise its products or services over a fixed area.

The three major search engines: Yahoo, Google and Microsoft have already realized the potential and the possibilities of the mobile advertising market. MSN uses banner ads on MSN mobile pages. Earlier MSN’s mobile advertising was confined to countries like France, Japan, Spain and UK. Recently it expanded coverage to include the US. Google also launched mobile image ads. When the cell phone browser is opened these image ads are displayed on the screen. However, the ad size is much smaller as compared to those for web pages. These image ads are connected to a web page and they follow the price-per-click model Google AdWords uses.

Mobile Advertising is one of best forms of mass medium advertising. It’s personal, and has a wider reach than any other form of advertising. It’s still early to comment on exactly how big or how successful it will prove to be. However, by all indicators “the future’s so bright you gotta wear shades.”

The predictions about the future revenues generated through mobile advertising optimistic. A brand advertiser, a mobile advertising company and the consumer will have different perceptions of mobile advertising. However, mobile advertising also comes with its fair share of drawbacks. Mobile ads are sometimes viewed as another form of spam and the advertisers as spammers. To resolve this issue, there are programs developed to give subscribers free talk-time for performing certain activities related to viewing ads. As far as the opinions of consumers are concerned, it’s a mixed bag. This is because people are simply not accustomed to being paid to view ads. Even if they are paid to view them, many still view the ads as a nuisance. It doesn’t make sense for the advertiser to pay a consumer to view ads if there are no conversions.

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The world we live in gets easily bored and craves novelty. Smart marketers look for new ways to put a twist on old standby marketing and advertising techniques. Marketing through television and radio channels has been done to death and has more nuisance value than anything else as far as the audience is concerned.

For marketers seeking new ways and means to expand their reach anywhere their prospects are — the future is here. Smart marketers and advertisers create a personal touch in their ad campaigns. This is one of the reasons why mobile advertising is rapidly increasing in popularity as an effective marketing tool. And the astonishing use of mobile devices leveraged this trend.

There are over 1.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide according to the International Telecommunications Union with the highest growth percentage coming from emerging economies like China, Russia and India. The US has about 200 million mobile subscribers. Smart marketers are tapping into the potential to reach their prospects as they’re on the move. Mobile devices are practically a permanent attachment for people under age 34.

Mobile Advertising is delivered in a number of formats. Text messaging, mobile internet advertising and mobile radio advertising are some of the common advertising formats. Out of these, text messaging (SMS) is the most widely used format.

According to the joint Mobile Advertising Report (MAR) released by Limbo and GfK Technology, text message usage is about 74% in India, 48% in the UK and 22% in the US. Projections predict in the near future mobile internet advertising will surpass text message advertising (FierceWireless).

In June 2008, Nokia launched the Nokia Advertising Alliance that aims to make mobile advertising easier for advertisers. This particular program includes services like providing marketing strategies, geographic targeting and related technologies to enhance customer captivation. Now advertisers can work in conjunction with Nokia to expand the coverage of mobile advertising with emerging mobile technologies for more powerful ad promotions.

The best part about mobile marketing is mobile devices are more heavily used than traditional PCs. Mobile advertisements are delivered to the customer no matter where they are. Even with these advantages, mobile advertising is still in its “early adopter” stages with a long way to go. The main obstacles are in the form of data tariff structures, handset and mobile internet interactivity and quality of subject matter.

Like the early days of the Internet, there are more advertisers than quality content. Add to that an acute lack of tools to assess the performance of mobile ad campaigns. Even though most of these difficulties will be solved in the future, mobile advertising will still face competition from other advertising and marketing methods. Google, Microsoft and Nokia are the prominent players in mobile advertising. The future holds a huge potential in terms of revenues from mobile advertising.

According to a report released by Informa Telecoms & Media, it is estimated that mobile advertising will generate USD 1.72 billion in 2008 and will rise to USD 12 billion in 2013. The report also advocates the use of banner ads as an effective tool in mobile advertising. The report highlights the significance of focusing on the long run and not the short term stumbling blocks.

Yahoo jumped on the bandwagon in June 2008 when it partnered with Publicis to integrate Publicis mobile advertising agency (PhoneValley) with Yahoo’s mobile developer platform language (Blueprint). The partnership is aimed at developing brands, reaching customers and maximizing sales through new techniques. It also aims to initiate cutting edge advertising strategies in the future.

Since the potential market for mobile advertising is huge, a few companies are exploring new horizons and expanding in new territory. For example, Millenial Media Inc., is venturing into Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Millenial develops ads for cell-phones and mobiles. Its CEO Paul Palmieri says “There is a tremendous growth opportunity for mobile advertising on a global basis, as evidenced by a rich and active mobile direct marketing industry, as well as surging demand from top brand advertisers.”

The media industry and brand advertisers are slowly catching on and making use of mobile advertising to increase market penetration. Mobile advertising has added support from applications like ringtones and pictures. Bluetooth advertising is also growing in popularity. Here, a company can advertise its products or services over a fixed area.

The three major search engines: Yahoo, Google and Microsoft have already realized the potential and the possibilities of the mobile advertising market. MSN uses banner ads on MSN mobile pages. Earlier MSN’s mobile advertising was confined to countries like France, Japan, Spain and UK. Recently it expanded coverage to include the US. Google also launched mobile image ads. When the cell phone browser is opened these image ads are displayed on the screen. However, the ad size is much smaller as compared to those for web pages. These image ads are connected to a web page and they follow the price-per-click model Google AdWords uses.

Mobile Advertising is one of best forms of mass medium advertising. It’s personal, and has a wider reach than any other form of advertising. It’s still early to comment on exactly how big or how successful it will prove to be. However, by all indicators “the future’s so bright you gotta wear shades.”

The predictions about the future revenues generated through mobile advertising optimistic. A brand advertiser, a mobile advertising company and the consumer will have different perceptions of mobile advertising. However, mobile advertising also comes with its fair share of drawbacks. Mobile ads are sometimes viewed as another form of spam and the advertisers as spammers. To resolve this issue, there are programs developed to give subscribers free talk-time for performing certain activities related to viewing ads. As far as the opinions of consumers are concerned, it’s a mixed bag. This is because people are simply not accustomed to being paid to view ads. Even if they are paid to view them, many still view the ads as a nuisance. It doesn’t make sense for the advertiser to pay a consumer to view ads if there are no conversions.

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

£8.59 (3 Bids)
End Date: Tuesday Jun-30-2009 14:42:28 BST
Bid now | Add to watch list

Visit merchant

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Author: FMLSweden

Keywords: FMLOnline Bluetooth marketing Marknadsfring av Internet marknadsfring Bluetooth marknadsfring Future Media Lab FML Sweden Mobilnyheter Nyheter Mobil Stockholmsmssan Elmia Malmmssan Mssa Malm Hitta nya kunder Skyltfnster Digital teknik Sony Ericsson Nokia Samsung Bluetooth reklam Marknadsfring Bluetooth Svensk Marknadsfring Tips Multitouch FutureMediaLab Future Medialab

Added: May 8, 2009

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The world we live in gets easily bored and craves novelty. Smart marketers look for new ways to put a twist on old standby marketing and advertising techniques. Marketing through television and radio channels has been done to death and has more nuisance value than anything else as far as the audience is concerned.

For marketers seeking new ways and means to expand their reach anywhere their prospects are — the future is here. Smart marketers and advertisers create a personal touch in their ad campaigns. This is one of the reasons why mobile advertising is rapidly increasing in popularity as an effective marketing tool. And the astonishing use of mobile devices leveraged this trend.

There are over 1.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide according to the International Telecommunications Union with the highest growth percentage coming from emerging economies like China, Russia and India. The US has about 200 million mobile subscribers. Smart marketers are tapping into the potential to reach their prospects as they’re on the move. Mobile devices are practically a permanent attachment for people under age 34.

Mobile Advertising is delivered in a number of formats. Text messaging, mobile internet advertising and mobile radio advertising are some of the common advertising formats. Out of these, text messaging (SMS) is the most widely used format.

According to the joint Mobile Advertising Report (MAR) released by Limbo and GfK Technology, text message usage is about 74% in India, 48% in the UK and 22% in the US. Projections predict in the near future mobile internet advertising will surpass text message advertising (FierceWireless).

In June 2008, Nokia launched the Nokia Advertising Alliance that aims to make mobile advertising easier for advertisers. This particular program includes services like providing marketing strategies, geographic targeting and related technologies to enhance customer captivation. Now advertisers can work in conjunction with Nokia to expand the coverage of mobile advertising with emerging mobile technologies for more powerful ad promotions.

The best part about mobile marketing is mobile devices are more heavily used than traditional PCs. Mobile advertisements are delivered to the customer no matter where they are. Even with these advantages, mobile advertising is still in its “early adopter” stages with a long way to go. The main obstacles are in the form of data tariff structures, handset and mobile internet interactivity and quality of subject matter.

Like the early days of the Internet, there are more advertisers than quality content. Add to that an acute lack of tools to assess the performance of mobile ad campaigns. Even though most of these difficulties will be solved in the future, mobile advertising will still face competition from other advertising and marketing methods. Google, Microsoft and Nokia are the prominent players in mobile advertising. The future holds a huge potential in terms of revenues from mobile advertising.

According to a report released by Informa Telecoms & Media, it is estimated that mobile advertising will generate USD 1.72 billion in 2008 and will rise to USD 12 billion in 2013. The report also advocates the use of banner ads as an effective tool in mobile advertising. The report highlights the significance of focusing on the long run and not the short term stumbling blocks.

Yahoo jumped on the bandwagon in June 2008 when it partnered with Publicis to integrate Publicis mobile advertising agency (PhoneValley) with Yahoo’s mobile developer platform language (Blueprint). The partnership is aimed at developing brands, reaching customers and maximizing sales through new techniques. It also aims to initiate cutting edge advertising strategies in the future.

Since the potential market for mobile advertising is huge, a few companies are exploring new horizons and expanding in new territory. For example, Millenial Media Inc., is venturing into Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Millenial develops ads for cell-phones and mobiles. Its CEO Paul Palmieri says “There is a tremendous growth opportunity for mobile advertising on a global basis, as evidenced by a rich and active mobile direct marketing industry, as well as surging demand from top brand advertisers.”

The media industry and brand advertisers are slowly catching on and making use of mobile advertising to increase market penetration. Mobile advertising has added support from applications like ringtones and pictures. Bluetooth advertising is also growing in popularity. Here, a company can advertise its products or services over a fixed area.

The three major search engines: Yahoo, Google and Microsoft have already realized the potential and the possibilities of the mobile advertising market. MSN uses banner ads on MSN mobile pages. Earlier MSN’s mobile advertising was confined to countries like France, Japan, Spain and UK. Recently it expanded coverage to include the US. Google also launched mobile image ads. When the cell phone browser is opened these image ads are displayed on the screen. However, the ad size is much smaller as compared to those for web pages. These image ads are connected to a web page and they follow the price-per-click model Google AdWords uses.

Mobile Advertising is one of best forms of mass medium advertising. It’s personal, and has a wider reach than any other form of advertising. It’s still early to comment on exactly how big or how successful it will prove to be. However, by all indicators “the future’s so bright you gotta wear shades.”

The predictions about the future revenues generated through mobile advertising optimistic. A brand advertiser, a mobile advertising company and the consumer will have different perceptions of mobile advertising. However, mobile advertising also comes with its fair share of drawbacks. Mobile ads are sometimes viewed as another form of spam and the advertisers as spammers. To resolve this issue, there are programs developed to give subscribers free talk-time for performing certain activities related to viewing ads. As far as the opinions of consumers are concerned, it’s a mixed bag. This is because people are simply not accustomed to being paid to view ads. Even if they are paid to view them, many still view the ads as a nuisance. It doesn’t make sense for the advertiser to pay a consumer to view ads if there are no conversions.

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

£4.90 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Jun-05-2009 18:02:37 BST
Bid now | Add to watch list

Visit merchant

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Do you have Bluetooth or infrared in your cell phone? Please do transfer this file for me. These are the words we generally use and share with our friends. With the technological revolution introduced by the multimedia phones, Bluetooth and infrared features have become pretty common. These features enable you to wirelessly transfer data from one phone to another. This interesting feature of the cell phones is the underlying reason due to which mobile phones are sweeping the electronic devices market.

All the leading brands like Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony Ericsson are offering wide range of phones featuring Bluetooth and Infrared options at prices that are within the reach of the customers. Bluetooth is device is something which works like a radio transmitter. It works through sending radioactive waves carrying the data. This device works within the radius of ten meters. On the other side, infrared is a technological device which send your desired data with infrared waves, the basic thing is that as long the infrared point of your can see the other point it can transfer the data it works like censor connectivity points.

The infrared technology works through the straight line connectivity which works by in sight feature. It means your infrared port should be must pointed towards the other phone you wish to connect. But in market demand Bluetooth is popular as it is coming in 10 to 100 meter ranges depend according to the prices. Bluetooth also have a quality to read out the memory card and trace the other memory card. Bluetooth have very higher range of transferring the data as compared to other devices. It is the fastest too.

Bluetooth is device added a revolution in the personal connectivity, there are various market products providing this wonderful wireless connectivity product. One of the best features of Bluetooth technology is that here we use 2.4 GHz ISM connecting radio frequency which is pretty common in all the countries. Apart from radio active technology it also enables you to avoid the multiple wire connections by providing single linkage to transfer the data easily.

On the side of market availability according to the latest research of this device more and more mobile phone companies are providing Bluetooth transfer system. Today mobile having low memory acceptance also featuring Bluetooth in their phones in order to avoid using multimedia transferring through your SIM card service.

But for the existence radio active device in the market there is a requirement of services provided by the companies having capability to have Bluetooth applications. Cellular phones needed to be built on exclusive purpose catering this facility. Sony Ericsson have started a fresh technology by exploring good phones serving sole purpose of better Bluetooth performance and demand in the market. The main feature of this device is that even local vendors can use this device and create low cost features from it.

Bluetooth as a feature is very popular these days as it allows you access to the desired data stored on other mobile devices. The primary motive of this device is to provide an interconnection between cellular phones and computing world. There are various joints offering such devices. You can go through the following link: www.chucksaccessorystore.com that deals in leading Bluetooth devices.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Derick_Mathew

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The Samsung SCH-a990 Mobile Phone represents the pinnacle of cell phone technology today. With support for Verizon Wireless’ exciting V Cast service, music player capabilities, and a powerful 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and video-recording capabilities, this phone is not fooling around. The phone also features TV output, Bluetooth-based printing, a swivel screen for total photographic control; The Samsung SCH-A990 boasts a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and video-recording capabilities. The EV-DO handset also supports Verizon’s 3G services, has integrated Bluetooth, a swivel screen, a speakerphone, and good call quality. It comes with an autofocus feature, video-recording capabilities, and a cool swivel screen. This high-end mobile also has support for Verizon’s 3G services, and excellent call quality. But it’s not without problems.

Camera

Despite a couple of design glitches and restrictions, the Samsung SCH-A990 Mobile Phone is a high-end multimedia phone that boasts a sharp, 3.2-megapixel camera and good call quality, it’s 3.2-megapixel camera, trumping the recently lauded Nokia N80. It has an auto focus feature, zoom, and plenty of imaging options. You can choose from five picture modes, three quality settings, and five resolutions (2,048×1,536, 1,600×1,200, 1,280×960, 1,024×768, and 800×600). You can adjust the brightness, white balance, color effects, and ISO settings. There’s also a multi shot mode and a self-timer, and you can change or turn off the shutter sound. Many of these options are also available to you in camcorder mode, although you get a choice of only two resolutions (320×240 and 176×144). You can capture up to an hour’s worth of video with sound.

Performance

Verizon’s network, and call quality was great. Speakerphone quality was just as good, and we had no problems pairing the handset with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset. An integrated speakerphone that makes Samsung SCH A990 Mobile Phone easy to converse without touching the handset is a big plus point for car users. The a990 is Bluetooth enabled wireless headsets can be configured with the phone for total hands free operation.

You can share your photos, videos and slide shows with an entire room full of people by connecting your a990 directly to any TV or home theater system. To print, just connect to any Picture Bridge-compatible printer, and in seconds you’ll have beautiful, full-color photos. You can also wirelessly send your photos to any Bluetooth-enabled printer. On top of all that, you can use the a990’s camera as a business card scanner.

Monty Alexander has a wealth of experience in writing articles on all mobile handsets i.e. Motorola mobiles, samsung mobile phone, nokia mobiles, samsung mobiles etc.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Monty_Alexander

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

If you’ve got a wireless network for your computers already, well, you might get a bit excited about what I’m going to say next. How would you feel if your PDA, your mobile phone, your mp3 player and almost everything else you connect to your computer could be wireless too? You’d like that? Well, it’s already a reality and has been for some time now.

Bluetooth is wireless and automatic, and has a number of interesting features that can simplify our daily lives. Bluetooth is a standard developed by a group of electronics manufacturers that allows any sort of electronic equipment — from computers and cell phones to keyboards and headphones — to make its own connections, without wires, cables or any direct action from a user. Read on…

Personal Area Network.

Using wireless networking with your personal gadgets is often called PAN, which stands for Personal Area Network. The idea is that, in the future, we’ll all have laptop computers with their batteries charged and no more need to connect any wires to them at all — you just place your Bluetooth device near the computer, and the computer sees it and can use it straightaway.

Bluetooth has been around and in-use since 1999, and it’s only getting more popular. It was designed to be secure, low cost, and easy to use from day one.

There are two classes of Bluetooth that are in popular use: class 1 and class 2. Class 2 is the most common and cheaper standard, allowing you to use a device that is up to 10 metres (32 feet) away. Class 1 is rarer, but you can still find devices that use it easily enough, and it has ten times the range: 100 metres or 320 feet.

How Does It Work?

Bluetooth is more flexible than 802.11 wireless networking, in exchange for the shorter range. Essentially, a Bluetooth-enabled computer has one Bluetooth receiver installed in it, and this receiver can then be used with up to 7 nearby Bluetooth devices. On the other end, wireless devices do not need to have Bluetooth installed if they support it — it is already integrated.

Like 802.11, Bluetooth works by using radio signals to create bandwidth. It is not, though, the same thing as an old-style wireless mouse or keyboard, which required a receiver to be plugged into one of your computers’ ports, and didn’t have range or stability anywhere near that of Bluetooth.

Many computers now come with built in Bluetooth, especially Apple Macs. If you want to add Bluetooth to a computer that doesn’t come with it pre-installed, you should probably use a USB to Bluetooth adapter, although internal Bluetooth devices to install in your computer are available. If you have a laptop and a spare PCMCIA slot, you can get Bluetooth cards for that too.

What Can You Do With Bluetooth?

Mobile phones with Bluetooth are very popular, and so are PDAs — the instant synchronisation of addresses and calendars to a computer is a useful feature. Other than that, almost anything that would usually use USB can be done using Bluetooth, including digital cameras, mp3 players, printers, and even mice and keyboards. If you take a look through the comprehensive list of Bluetooth ‘profiles’ (kinds of devices that could, in theory, be Bluetooth enabled), it includes cordless phones, faxes, headsets, and even video.

Basically, more than anything, Bluetooth is a replacement for USB: some say that while 802.11 wireless networking is wireless Ethernet, Bluetooth is wireless USB.

Not Just for Computers.

Part of the power of Bluetooth is that it isn’t just used to connect things to computers — it can be used to connect almost anything to anything else, if both things are Bluetooth-enabled and recognise each other.

Mobile phones, in particular, take advantage of this. Hands-free headsets often use Bluetooth to communicate with the phone. Some cars, for example, now have on-board computers that will connect with a Bluetooth phone and allow you to make hands-free calls, regardless of where the phone is in the car (even if you’ve left it in your bag in the trunk!)

On top of that, of course, Bluetooth devices can communicate with each other. This has led to some people sending messages from their Bluetooth PDAs to others in close range — not an especially useful feature, but quite fun. This is called ‘bluejacking’, and the first recorded instance of it was a man who sent a Bluetooth message to another man’s Nokia phone while they were in a bank together. What did the message say? ‘Buy Ericsson’.

Since then, it has become possible to send images by bluejacking, and it is widely believed to be the newest advertising medium — yes, it lets billboards send messages to your phone, a practice known as ‘bluecasting’. Whether you think that’s cool or annoying, of course, is your choice.

Written by Jason Keno of DetectiveAgents.com
Private Investigation and PC Security Software.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Keno

Tweet This On TWITTER 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!