Bluetooth
Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs) first developed by Ericsson, later formalized by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which was formally announced May 20, 1999. It was composed by Sony Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Currently 3 Future Bluetooth 4 Security concerns 5 Past Bluetooth 6 See also 7 External links |
Introduction
The system is named after a Danish king Harald Blåtand (Harold Bluetooth in English) known for his unification of previously warring tribes from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Bluetooth likewise was intended to unify different technologies like computers and mobile phones. The Bluetooth logo merges the Nordic runes for H and B.
Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printerss and digital cameras via a secure, low-cost, globally available short range radio frequency.
Bluetooth lets these devices talk to each other when they come in range, even if they're not in the same room, as long as they are within 10 metres of each other.
Currently
The version shipping currently to consumers as embedded Bluetooth and USB dongles is 1.1.
It is a wireless radio standard primarily designed for low power consumption, with a short range (from 10 up to 100 meters) and with a low-cost transceiver microchip in each device.
It can be used to wirelessly connect peripherals like printers or keyboards to computers, or to have PDAs communicate with other nearby PDAs or computers. Cell phones with integrated Bluetooth technology have also been released in large numbers, that can connect to computer, PDAs and, specifically, to handsfree. Toyota's 2004 Prius is the first car that supports the Bluetooth system. Passengers of the Prius can use their Bluetooth-enabled cellphone via the car's audio system without taking the phone out of their pocket. The 2004 Lexus LS 430 offers similar Bluetooth functionality.
However, the standard also includes support for more powerful longer-range devices suitable for constructing a wireless LAN. Every Bluetooth device can simultaneously maintain up to 7 connections. Every device can be configured to constantly announce its presence to nearby devices, in order to establish a connection. It is also possible to password protect a connection between two devices, so that no others can listen in.
The protocol operates in the license-free ISM band at 2.45 GHz. It reaches speeds of 723.1 kbit/s. In order to avoid interfering with other protocols which may use the 2.45 GHz band, the Bluetooth protocol divides the band into 79 channels and changes channels up to 1600 times per second.
Bluetooth should not be compared to Wi-Fi, a faster protocol requiring more expensive hardware that covers greater distances and uses the same frequency range. While Bluetooth is a cable replacement creating personal area networking between different devices, Wi-Fi is a cable replacement for local area network access. They serve different purposes.
Many USB Bluetooth adapters are available, some of which also include an IrDA adapter.
Future Bluetooth
The Bluetooth SIG is working on versions 1.2 and 2.0Bluetooth 1.2
This version is backwards compatible with 1.1 and the major enhancements include
Bluetooth 2.0
There is no definitive information about what will be included in 2.0, but some details have been released by Ericsson research scientists:Security concerns
In April 2004, security consultants @Stake revealed a security flaw that makes it possible to hack into conversations on Bluetooth based wireless headsets by reverse engineering the PIN.
This is one of a number of concerns that have been raised over the security of Bluetooth communications. In 2004 the first virus using Bluetooth to spread itself among mobile phones appeared for the Symbian OS
Bluetooth uses the SAFER+ algorithm for authentication and key generation.
Past Bluetooth
Versions 1.0 and 1.0B had numerous problems and the various manufacturers had great difficulties in making their products interoperable. 1.0 and 1.0B also had mandatory Bluetooth Hardware Device Address (BD_ADDR) transmission in the handshaking process, rendering anonymity impossible at protocol level, which was a major set-back for services planned to be used in Bluetooth environments, such as Consumerium.
See also
External links