History of Bluetooth technology

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. The founders of Bluetooth took the name of Harald Bluetooth because of the way he united two countries together and in the same way Bluetooth unites two dissimilar components. Bluetooth technology can unite different technologies like mobile phones, computers, printers, headsets etc.

The first company to delve into a low cost, low power interface was Ericsson Mobile Communications. First explorations took place in 1994 to wirelessly connect computers to mobile phones. A group of like minded companies joined forces in 1998 to form and association called the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) in Lund Switzerland. Coming from different backgrounds the group included market leaders in laptop manufacturing, the cell phone industry and digital signal processing. These companies where Ericsson, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Intel, Toshiba, and Agere. These companies now promote development and research into the technology of Bluetooth.

Bluetooth specifications where developed by Jaap Haartsen and Sven Mattisson two employees of Ericsson Mobile Platforms. 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.

What exactly is Bluetooth?

Operating on a short-range radio frequency it is a wireless communications network. 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. Due to its very low power it is medically safe to use, the information it carries using short wave radio and narrow bandwidth know as ISM is scientifically sound and very secure.

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. You can use things like mobile phones, hands free headsets, printers with wireless network communications, keyboards and a mouse, provided the profiles have been enabled.

Versions of Bluetooth

Improved features and more benefits have seen Bluetooth improve and change 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 saw great improvements and it became a truly operable product with devices being able to communicate properly.

Version 1.2 saw all round improvement with vastly superior voice qualities, and many extra benefits.

Version2.0 improved even more with features and quality 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. Master devices use there ability and can swiftly switch from one device to another.

Wi-Fi is another wireless operating system and although it has a superior operating range it uses a different technology. Wi-Fi hardware is a lot more expensive Giving Bluetooth an advantage in costs. The Bluetooth setup of its services between many devices is simpler, can be automated and security is easier. Wi-Fi is more complicated to set up and needs to have devices configured to set up shared resources which are more for Ethernet networking. Wi-Fi is better suited for operating larger networks while Bluetooth has more power and better connections.

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. Manufacturers are now jumping on the bandwagon and using Bluetooth technology and as more components use it the technology will grow. Here for the long term Bluetooth Technology will remain a world leader.