The next version of the Bluetooth specification will include an updated Radio specification and further definition for Profiles.

While neither IrDA nor Bluetooth require the use of cables to achieve interdevice communication, IrDA requires that the devices be within line of sight in order to achieve communication. Since Bluetooth is based on radio transmissions, Bluetooth devices do not have to be within line of sight. Interdevice communication using Bluetooth may be achieved at much greater distances than IrDA even if there are obstructions between devices. Basically, as long as the radio transceiver microchips can hear each other, Bluetooth wireless communication is possible.

Another hot topic relating to Bluetooth is potential health risks. This worry stems from the fact the frequency used by Bluetooth to establish radio links happens to be the same frequency household microwave ovens use. The key difference is that the Bluetooth radio is extremely low power. It pushes less power than a cell phone. Investigation as to the potential health risks is an ongoing concern with Bluetooth as well as cell phones and many other radio emitting devices. Bottom line, more investigation is needed.

There a precious few consumer products currently available which use Bluetooth wireless technology. This is about to change. Within the next 6 to 12 months companies will begin to release Bluetooth products. The products will likely be a bit pricey for the average consumer and may be directed primarily at the professional office environments. Soon after that, devices will be released that will of great use and interest to the general consumer market.

Products to be released will include cards that will enable PDAs and PCs to establish Bluetooth links and share data. There will be LAN access point devices released which will provide network access to PDAs and PCs in public places. Several mobile phone manufacturers will be releasing mobile phones using Bluetooth wireless technology. These phones will be able to provice dial up internet access for PDAs and PCs and will be able to sync address book information with PCs. Other solutions will include printing from devices using Bluetooth, playing music files from a portable device through a car stereo system, and sending live video over a Bluetooth link.

Bluetooth is similar to many other specifications in the way that it actually borrows many of its features from other specifications. The IEEE 802.11 specification uses the 2.4GHz band and is used to enable wireless LAN connectivity. IrDA is a wireless specification that uses Infrared light to connect devices and has many Object Exchange specifications associated with it. Bluetooth borrows from those specifications to enable file sharing and data transfers between devices. HomeRF SWAP is a specification aimed at small networks of devices for the home environment such as several wireless phone handsets useing the same base station for land line access.

Until very recently there were three countries that did not allow the same frequency range under the ISM band as most every other country in the world. Those countries are Japan, France, and Spain. Japan has recently joined the bandwagon and France will open the ISM spectrum as of 1, January 2001. Spain is the only country left. An interesting and unfortunate note is that any device sold outside of a country not allowing the full spectrum will not be allowed to operate within its boarders and an any device sold within its boarders will not communicate with devices sold in other countries.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is an industry group consisting of leaders in the telecommunications and computing industries that are driving development of the technology and bringing it to market. This group is in charge of developing the specification.

An up-to-date list of the Bluetooth SIG members can be found at www.bluetooth.com/sig/memberlist/memberlist.asp.

There are three basic levels of involvement with the Bluetooth SIG: Promoter, Associate, and Early Adoptor.

The Promoter Group is the top level group which consists of companies that help to lead the Bluetooth SIG and are responsible for the development and promotion of the technology. Currently this group is limited to 3Com, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Lucent Technologies, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, and Toshiba. Membership within this group is very restrictive and there are no set plans to expand this membership.

Associate members can be any company that has signed the Early Adoptor 1.1 contract and the Associate Member Amendment. There is also a membership fee associated with this level of membership which is based on the annual revenue of the applying company.

Early Adoptors can be any company that has signed the Early Adoptor 1.0 contract. There is no fee for this level of membership.

Within the SIG there is also the concept of working groups, expert groups, and marketing subgroups. A Working Group is a team consisting of representatives from Promoter and/or Associate member companies. Working Group teams report to the Bluetooth Architecture Review Board (BARB) and the Test and Interoperability Board. Working Groups define new Bluetooth functions and generate the technical specifications needed for implemetation. An Expert Group is a team consisting of representatives from Promoter and/or Associate member companies. Expert Groups are chaired by a representative of a Promoter or Assiciate member company and act in an advisory role to the Working Groups. A Marketing Subgroup is a team consisting of representatives from Promoter and/or Associate member companies and form on an as needed basis to coordinate SIG activities.

The following table outlines the benefits of both the Early Adoptor and Associate Member levels of involvement within the SIG.

Obtaining membership in the Bluetooth SIG can be accomplished by going to www.bluetooth.com/sig/membership/membership.asp and completing the membership application. It's easy...and the Early Adopter level is free!

All licensees will have to sign a zero cost license agreement to cover Intellectual Property (IP) and naming.

Bluetooth has three security modes:

• non-secure—the device does not initiate any kind of security procedure
• service level security—The service level security mode allows more flexibility in application access policies. This mode is especially useful when running several applications in parallel with differing security requirements.
• link level security—the device sets up security procedures before the link set-up is completed.

There is a more detailed description of Bluetooth security in the Security section of the Bluetooth Wireless Technology Overview.

In many cases, the built in security modes provided by the Bluetooth Specification may not be sufficient for all applications. In such cases additional encryption algorthims may be applied at the application level.

There is a very common misconception about Bluetooth applications that anyone's device may simply connect to another device and browse the the information on the device. This simply is not true. The fact is that the Bluetooth specification has thought about this and has built in procedures that ensure this cannot happen without direct user acknowlegement and enablement. In order for information to be transferred without your knowledge, you would have to set a flag within your device's application that will enable it to share data freely. This entire security issue is covered by the Bluetooth specification. No need to worry.

Keep in mind, however, that at some level all Bluetooth devices talk to each other. This level is at a purely hardware level and is used to determine if a connection is going to be established. At the hardware level, a device has no way to access your application level data.

There are a few e-mail based discussion groups which focus on the Bluetooth wireless technology. EGroups Bluetooth Mailing List.

• Piconet: A network of devices connected using Bluetooth wireless technology. A piconet may consist of two to eight devices. In a piconet, there will always be one master while the others are slaves.
• Scatternet: Two or more independent, non-synchronized piconets.

Bluetooth is an enabling technology. This means that Bluetooth provides a physical means by which the hopes and dreams of service discovery protocols such as JINI and Plug-and-Play may be realized. Bluetooth in no way competes with these specifications, but rather enables them to exist.

Core Bluetooth and Profile specifications and White Papers may be obtained from www.bluetooth.com.

There are a few e-mail based discussion groups which focus on the Bluetooth wireless technology. EGroups Bluetooth Mailing List.

The Bluetooth Qualification Process is the process by which products are tested against the Specifications in order to guarantee compliance. This process is important because no device may be marketed as using Bluetooth wireless technology unless it passes cleanly through the Qualification process. This is important to consumers because the goal of this process is to guarantee that Bluetooth devices will live up to the hype and perform as expected.

The process basically works by having a Bluetooth product/application tested at a Bluetooth Qualified Testing Facility (BQTF) and then having a Bluetooth Qualification Body (BQB), a physical person, sign off on the test results thus certifying the device as fully compliant with the Specifications. This can be a very involved process. More information on the process is available at the Blueooth SIG website.

A list of BQTFs and BQBs is maintained at the Blueooth SIG website.

This FAQ was created from content derived from various technical sources available on the web.