Bluetooth takes its name from the 10th century Danish King Harald Bluetooth, who was influential in uniting Scandinavian Europe when the region was torn apart by wars and feuding clans. Now Bluetooth has emerged as the “king” of solutions for a host of feuding situations, such as the need for cost savings, convenience, low power, increased data speeds, interoperability, and mobility—all key factors in helping Bluetooth win the connectivity wars.

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Telecoms vendor Ericsson originally invented Bluetooth in 1999 as a wireless alternative to serial data cables. Bluetooth and its contemporary Wi-Fi initially were designed for high-speed local communication, and Wi-Fi seemed to win the early wireless battle with much higher transmission speeds.

Early Bluetooth versions 1.0 and 1.0B had many problems, and manufacturers had difficulty making their products interoperable. But that is all history. Bluetooth has solved its “teething” problems and found its way into low-power applications where power-hungry and CPU-hungry Wi-Fi can’t compete.

Both technologies have emerged to serve very different markets. Wi-Fi suits high-speed wireless home, office, and outdoor networks, while Bluetooth serves portable and mobile lower-speed and short-transmit-distance device-to-device communication.

Some Background

Bluetooth is a wireless protocol designed for exchanging data over short distances to and from fixed and mobile devices. It provides wireless freedom without the restriction of fixed cabling, and it’s now being implemented into an imaginative range of products. Common Bluetooth applications include headphones or GPS devices, but the list of current and potential Bluetooth-enabled products is almost endless.

Bulky network cables in a factory or office block can now disappear using a wireless replacement solution in the form of Bluetooth adapters communicating with Bluetooth-enabled products. Users can enjoy the freedom to move equipment around whenever and wherever needed. Facility managers also benefit from the potential cost savings since they don’t have to reroute data networks and power cabling to accommodate new communications systems.

Alan Lowne, CEO of Saelig Co. Inc., is a graduate of the University of Southampton in England. He also has completed post-graduate work at Brunel University in the U.K. He founded Saelig, which means “happy, prosperous, blessed,” in 1988 in Rochester, N.Y.

Bluetooth has come a long way since the early days and is increasing its market share in the wireless world. Bluetooth V2.1+EDR provides a much higher data rate with higher security than V1 and also uses much less power. The higher security of V2.1+EDR has opened up opportunities for Bluetooth in financial transactions as well.

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