Bluetooth

Not too long ago, the family telephone had a rotary dial and was wired into the wall on a very long extension cord for the convenience of taking it into another room. If you were lucky, you had a private line instead of a party line shared with one or more households. Today people all over the world walk around looking like they are talking to themselves as they speak into their wireless bluetooth devices paired to a cell phone.

What is bluetooth technology?
Simply put, bluetooth is a wireless technology that allows electronic devices to communicate with each other without using cables or wires. For instance, when a bluetooth headset is paired with a cell phone, they can communicate with each other.

How does bluetooth work?
The simplest explanation is bluetooth uses radio waves to send information between devices. Televisions, mobile phones, and FM radio also use radio waves, but with one big difference, these devices are made to broadcast great distances. The radio waves in bluetooth devices are meant to send information a very short distance to personal devices. The maximum range for a bluetooth device is only about 33 feet.

What devices use bluetooth?
The bluetooth device most commonly seen is a hand-free headset for a cell phone. A desktop computer with bluetooth capability can support a wireless keyboard, wireless printer, and wireless mouse. The same computer may share an internet connection with several other computers using a wireless router. Late model cars are now equipped with bluetooth enabling you to make and answer calls from your cell phone through the car radio.

The purpose of bluetooth is to create communication between devices without the use of cables or wires. As bluetooth technology matures it uses have expanded into more areas like wireless healthcare devices. The possibilities are limitless.