The A to Z of wireless

B is for Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless protocol that operates in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM radio frequency band. It enables devices to communicate information over short distances and is typically used as a way of connecting devices without the need for cables.

The tech has been around for more than a decade and is used in a multitude of consumer electronics, including mobile phones, laptops, hands-free headsets, games consoles and even printers.

More than two billion Bluetooth-enabled devices are estimated to have shipped globally, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) the organisation that drives the development and marketing of the technology.

The key selling point for the technology is ease of use - Bluetooth enables ad hoc networking and the creation of personal area networks on-the-fly, with minimal configuration and without the need for line-of-sight between the various gadgets.

Bluetooth has also recently got a speed boost thanks to the latest version of the standard: version 3.0 can transmit data at speeds of up to around 24Mbps, a considerable jump from its predecessor (Bluetooth 2.1), which was limited to a maximum of 3Mbps.

The speed hike comes from the inclusion of the 802.11 radio protocol - the basis for wi-fi - which means Bluetooth 3.0 gadgets will be able to make use of any wi-fi radios to speed up larger data transfers, switching the wi-fi on to do the deed and then off again afterwards to conserve power.

Such a move not only brings greater data transfer rates for Bluetooth users but may also help ensure the proliferation of wi-fi radios do not cause Bluetooth to become obsolete.

As well as bringing greater speed, the 3.0 standard is also less power draining than its predecessors and the SIG reckons consumer products featuring the standard will hit the market at the end of this year or early next.

A Bluetooth headset (Photo credit: The_Ladd via Flickr.com under the following Creative Commons licence)