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Bluetooth history

Bluetooth takes its name from a character in history called Harald Bluetooth. He was the king of Denmark born in 910AD and was responsible in 940AD of uniting Denmark and Norway which is where Bluetooth technology gets its conception from. It was because of the uniting of two countries by Harald Bluetooth that the founders of Bluetooth technology took his name for the principle of uniting two components to work together remotely. Mobile phones, computers, printers, headsets etc can be connected wirelessly using Bluetooth technology.

The first company to delve into a low cost, low power interface was Ericsson Mobile Communications. They started looking into ways of linking cell phones and computers without wires in 1994. In 1998, Lund Switzerland saw the formation of like minded companies who united into an association called the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). Coming from different backgrounds the group included market leaders in laptop manufacturing, the cell phone industry and digital signal processing. Included in this group where Motorola, Nokia, Intel, Toshiba, Agere, Ericsson, IBM, and Microsoft. Today research and development into the Bluetooth technology is led by these companies.

Ericsson Mobile Platforms had two employees Jaap Haartsen and Sven Mattisson which developed the Bluetooth specifications. Developed in Scandinavia Bluetooth technology is able to unite different components from different industries such as computing, cell phones and automotive markets. Based on a frequency hopping spread spectrum it is a wireless technology that combines and simplifies multiple forms of communication into a common secure available radio signal.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group made a firm commitment to have Bluetooth technology installed in various devices and by 2002 Bluetooth technology was installed in PC’s, notebooks, desktop computers and over 100 million mobile phones had the technology as well as millions of other communications devices.

Bluetooth definition?

Bluetooth is a wireless communications network which operates on a short-range radio frequency. Bluetooth technology has the ability to has the ability to be used on any equipment that has its built in features and can exchange information between various device like mobile phones and computers. Using a short wave narrow bandwidth it uses low power and therefore is medically safe to use, it is also a scientifically sound system with excellent security.

Devices have to be compatible and anyone wanting to use it will have to have Bluetooth profiles to be able to connect to one another. Once the profiles are enabled you should be able to use such things as hands free headsets with mobile phones, and wireless networking and communications which use printers, keyboards and a mouse.

Versions of Bluetooth

Bluetooth has seen many improved qualities with many changes since version 1.Introduced in 1998 and like most other new technologies had many teething problems. The main problem being a lack of devices being able to communicate.

Version 1.1 was able to communicate properly and the great improvements made it truly operable.

Version 1.2 was in general a better all round product, with vast voice quality improvement, backward compatibility and overall had better all round benefits.

Version2.0 saw more improvements and features and now version 3.0 has a Bluetooth master able to communicate with several devices, and at any given time, the slave can become the master. The master has the ability to switch between devices very fast.

Other similar technology Such as Wi-Fi is on the market but use different technology although Wi-Fi has a greater operating range. The difference is Bluetooth technology is a lot cheaper as the Wi-Fi hardware is much more expensive. One big advantage Bluetooth has is its ease of setting it up between many devices, its better security and its automated system. Local are networks is more for Wi-Fi which is complicated to set up and needs to have all devices configured. Bluetooth is more powerful and has better connections whilst Wi-Fi is better suited for operating larger networks. 

For operating Bluetooth on a computer it requires Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher. If you run an Apple computer it has been supported by Bluetooth technology since 2002. Nearly all computers now have Bluetooth installed but if not then if your computer has Windows XP with Service pack 2 then a device called a dongle can be purchased. The dongle device allows various devices to communicate with your computer.

Bluetooth is now the world wide wireless standard and has a bright future. In the future High quality audio and video data will have a much higher quality as Bluetooth improves and the alternative for transporting Bluetooth profile data is MAC PHY. Automatic configuration will be carried out by using Topology Management, and broadcast channelling, which will enable Bluetooth in other devises. The chain reaction is already in progress and as more components use Bluetooth technology, manufacturers of electronics will jump on the band wagon and become increasingly eager to make their products compatible. Bluetooth technology will be here for a long time to come.