WIRELESS WONDER: Bluetooth Bites!

Bluetooth

is going to cut off the wires and cords dangling from digital devices like

laptops, PDAs, etc. So far, the wires were the necessary evils to make digital

devices communicate with each other. One may wonder if that was good enough

reason to name such a revolutionary technology after a Viking King. Harald

Bluetooth was born in 908 to "King Gorm the Old" who ruled Jutland–the

main peninsula of Denmark. However, there was more to Harald than just being a

Viking King. He earned a place in history for his role in uniting Denmark and

Norway. He would have hardly realized that one day, the technology known after

him would unite the various digital devices.

Living the Bluetooth way: Life will never be the same again!

Let us try to imagine how our busy, enterprising and technology-savvy Ramdin

chacha would lives in the Bluetooth world: he arrives at the airport to face a

long queue for checking and seat assignment. But chacha does not have to wait in

the queue anymore; he uses his Bluetooth enabled PDA to present an electronic

ticket. The airline’s on-line system checks identification via the PDA’s

"ID-tag" feature and confirms the seat. He enters the airport lounge

and connects his laptop (or PDA/other devices) wirelessly on the Bluetooth

Internet ports provided in the lounge, to access office or home-based servers

via the airline server (he could also make "free" Internet voice calls–maybe

courtesy of the airlines–using Voice-over-IP).

As he got off the plane and switched on the Bluetooth enabled mobile phone,

the messages–written in the laptop/PDA during the flight–were automatically

sent by mobile phone. Then he is identified by the Rent-A-Limousine database and

transferred to a Bluetooth limousine. On entering the limousine–he could use

the mobile phone to unlock the vehicle and switch on the stereo– the car

stereo automatically tunes to his favorite station/music, the temperature

adjusts to his liking and the seat to his preferred settings. He could even use

the mobile phone to integrate it with the car’s stereo, so that he could talk

"hands-free" while on the move. He is reminded of the appointment

schedule on the daily calendar (and even the results of the latest diagnostic

test of the vehicle). His hotel reservations are automatically queried from his

PDA and the GPS system provides directions to the hotel. After arriving at the

hotel, he is automatically checked-in and the room number and electronic key are

transferred to his PDA. As he enters the room, the door automatically opens,air-conditioning sets to his liking and the TV starts showing his favorite program.

Anxious to see the first show of the movie of his favorite actor, he uses

Bluetooth PDA to wirelessly confirm and pay for a ticket (again, no need to

stand in the long queue), enters the cinema theater and takes his preferred

seat. As he enters his favorite restaurant, he uses a Bluetooth cordless device

to communicate with others, including the chef and the waiters, to order and pay

for the food and even to participate in the games.

So, what is Bluetooth?

In early 1998, a group of computer and telecommunications industry leaders,

including Ericsson, Intel, IBM, Nokia and Toshiba began developing a way to

connect a wide range of mobile devices quickly and easily, without cables. To

ensure that this technology is seamlessly implemented in a diverse range of

devices, these leaders formed a special interest group (SIG)–formally

announced on May 20, 1998–to design a royalty-free, open specification

technology, code named "Bluetooth". The SIG was quickly joined by

other leaders like 3COM/Palm, Axis Communication, Compaq, Dell, Lucent,

Motorola, Qualcomm, Xircom–all these companies were interested in offering

products with such a feature, taking advantage of a standardized, wireless means

of connection. Now, more than 1300 manufacturers from various businesses all

over the world have joined the Bluetooth family.

How does it work?

The technology employs embedding of tiny, inexpensive, short-range

transceivers into the user devices, either directly or through an adapter device

such as a PC Card. The radio operates on the globally available (generally

unlicensed) radio frequencies in the 2.45 GHz band and supports data speeds of

up to 721 Kbps (as well as three 56 Kbps voice channels). Bluetooth devices and

adapters were expected to be available in 2000, using which, Bluetooth radios

were expected to cost around $20 initially, eventually falling to around $5. The

Bluetooth specification targets power consumption of the device from a

"hold" mode consuming 30 microamps (uA) to the active transmitting

range of 8-30 milliamps (or less than 1/10th of a Watt). It worked up to 10

meters for 0 dBm (and 100 meters for 20 dBm).

Bluetooth is thus becoming a global de-facto standard for low-cost,

short-range wireless connectivity, cutting the cords that used to tie up digital

devices. When two Bluetooth equipped devices come within a range of about 10

meters of each other; they establish a connection together — wirelessly. And

the Bluetooth link–unlike other solutions such as infrared–doesn’t require

a line-of-sight connection in order to communicate. A laptop could send

information to a printer in the next room, or a microwave oven could send a

message to a mobile phone, informing it that the meal is ready.

Bluetooth supports both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint connections.

Bluetooth limits the radio’s output power precisely to that actually needed to

suit the exact range. Furthermore, the radio automatically shifts to a low power

mode as soon as traffic reduces or stops. A Bluetooth radio consumes less than

three percent of power compared to a modern mobile phone. A Bluetooth radio

device is designed to work even in very noisy radio environments. All data is

protected by advanced error-correction methods, as well as encryption and

authentication routines for the user’s privacy.

Endless possibilities: Need for new applications

After mobile telephony, Bluetooth has the potential to become the next,

fastest adopted technology in the Mobile Information Society. As Bluetooth grows

to be a "last-meter wireless" standard and enters tens of millions of

mobile phones, PCs, laptops and a whole range of other electronic devices, the

market is going to demand new, innovative applications, value-added services,

end-to-end solutions and much more. The possibilities are limitless, and because

the radio frequency used is easily available, Bluetooth can offer fast and

secure access to wireless connectivity.

Mobile phones brought us freedom from telephone cords. Now Bluetooth is going

to bring a new kind of freedom, as one will be able to share information,

synchronize data, access the Internet, integrate with LANs or even unlock one’s

car–simply by using a Bluetooth equipped mobile phone. The mobile phone

headset would also not need a cable dangling from the ear piece to the mobile

and the calls will be transmitted wirelessly to the ear piece. Bluetooth will

also allow one to surf the web with a laptop, while the phone remains in the bag

or the pocket, or effortlessly exchange information such as calendar

appointments or contacts data with colleagues.

Bluetooth might also be used in ‘mobile imaging’. Bluetooth chips will

receive images taken on a Bluetooth digital camera. After adding a few lines of

text, the user can send the received photograph to another device or web service

where it could be viewed, printed or saved on a CD-R. By combining the ease of

SMS messaging with digital photography, Mobile Imaging is an indication of the

potential of Bluetooth.

The expectations belied

The Bluetooth SIG estimated that by the end of 2001, Bluetooth will feature

in more than a hundred million mobile phones, millions of PCs, laptop computers

and other handheld devices. Cahner’s In-Stat Group estimates that 1.4 billion

Bluetooth-enabled devices will be shipped by 2005. Merrill Lynch had estimated

that the number of Bluetooth chipsets sold will rise from 9 million in 2000, to

about 1 billion in 2003, and more than 2.1 billion in 2005. "The thing

about Bluetooth is that it really will ship in the billions of units once it

gains momentum. It is really a multibillion-dollar market," says an analyst

with Gartner Group’s Dataquest.

Has the eagerly anticipated wireless standard lived up to expectations?

Devices–using the technology–were expected to be commercially available

in 2000. However, vendors have repeatedly pushed back product plans due to ‘cost’

and ‘intero-perability’ issues. As Bluetooth chipsets are still expensive,

it may take about two or three years before they are built into new devices on a

large scale. Interoperability



will also be the key challenge, which requires Bluetooth enabled products to
work with such other products. Unforeseen development delays are partly

attributed to the difficulty in dealing with multiple platforms used by various

user devices, such as PDAs, cellphones, desktop computers, etc.

However, the day is not far when one will be able to use one’s mobile phone

to pay for a coke or a bus-ride, as the bus fare would be automatically paid by

the mobile phone as soon as one enters the bus…no need for the grouchy

bus-conductors. The mobile would serve as the m-commerce wallet. And more…one

would get an automatic text message on the mobile, notifying that the kids are

safely back from the school. Life will no more be the same!

Niraj K Gupta www.telecombyNirajGupta.com