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Sunday, March 19, 2006

Bluetooth - what is it - notes

What is Bluetooth?
More info available at: wikipedia
Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs). Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printers and digital cameras via a secure, low-cost, globally available short range radio frequency.
Bluetooth Accessories
The name Bluetooth was born from the 10th century king of Denmark, King Harold Bluetooth who engaged in diplomacy which led warring parties to negotiate with each other. The inventors of the Bluetooth technology thought this a fitting name for their technology which allowed different devices to talk to each other
Bluetooth Heasdsets

Bluetooth applications

A Bluetooth mouse.Wireless networking between desktops and laptops, or desktops in a confined space and where little bandwidth is required
Bluetooth peripherals such as printers, mice and keyboards
Bluetooth cell phones have been sold in large numbers, and are able to connect to computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), certain automobile handsfree systems and various other devices. The standard also includes support for more powerful, longer-range devices suitable for constructing wireless LANs.
Transfer of files (images, mp3s, etc) between mobile phones, Personal digital assistants (PDAs) and computers via OBEX
Certain mp3 players and digital cameras to transfer files to and from computers
Bluetooth headsets for mobile phones and smartphones
Some testing equipment is Bluetooth enabled
Some medical applications are under development
Certain GPS receivers transfer NMEA data via Bluetooth
Bluetooth car kits — Acura, with the 2004 Acura TL, was the first motor vehicle manufacturer to install handsfree Bluetooth technology. Later, BMW added it as an option on its 3 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series and X5 vehicles. Since then, other manufacturers have followed suit, with many vehicles, including the 2004 Toyota Prius and the 2004 Lexus LS 430. The Bluetooth car kits allow users with Bluetooth-equipped cell phones to make use of some of the phone's features, such as making calls, while the phone itself can be left in a suitcase or in the boot/trunk, for instance. Companies like Parrot or Motorola manufacture Bluetooth hands-free car kits for well-known brand car manufacturers.
Certain data logging equipment transmits data to a computer via Bluetooth.
For remote controls where infrared was traditionally used.
Hearing aids — Starkey Laboratories have created a device to plug into some hearing aids
Nintendo Revolution and Sony's Playstation 3 will use Bluetooth technology for its wireless controllers. Also Hip Gear has already released a Bluetooth controller for the Xbox.
Newer model Zoll Defibrilators for the purpose of transmitting Defibrilation Data and Patient Monitoring/ECG data between the unit and a reporting PC using Zoll Rescue Net software.
The upcoming LEGO Mindstorms NXT will use Bluetooth as an alternative way to receive programs from the computer.
Bluetooth Heasdsets
Specifications and Features
The Bluetooth specification was first developed by Ericsson, and was later formalized by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The SIG was formally announced on May 20, 1999. It was established by Sony Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Toshiba and Nokia, and later joined by many other companies as Associate or Adopter members. Bluetooth is also known as IEEE 802.15.1.
Bluetooth Heasdsets

Bluetooth 1.0 and 1.0B
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 a protocol level, which was a major set back for services planned to be used in Bluetooth environments, such as Consumerium.

Bluetooth 1.1
In version 1.1:

many errata found in the 1.0B specifications were fixed.
added support for non-encrypted channels.
Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)
Bluetooth Heasdsets
Bluetooth 1.2
This version is backwards compatible with 1.1 and the major enhancements include

Adaptive Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (AFH), which improves resistance to radio frequency interference by avoiding using crowded frequencies in the hopping sequence
Higher transmission speeds in practice
extended Synchronous Connections (eSCO), which improves voice quality of audio links by allowing retransmissions of corrupted packets.
Host Controller Interface (HCI) support for 3-wire UART
HCI access to timing information for Bluetooth applications.
[edit]
Bluetooth 2.0
This version is backwards compatible with 1.x. The main enhancement is the introduction of Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) of 2.1 Mbit/s. This has the following effects (Bluetooth SIG, 2004):

3 times faster transmission speed (up to 10 times in certain cases).
Lower power consumption through a reduced duty cycle.
Simplification of multi-link scenarios due to more available bandwidth.
Further improved BER (bit error rate) performance.
[edit]
The Future of Bluetooth
The next version of Bluetooth, currently code named Lisbon, includes a number of features to increase security, useability and value of Bluetooth. The following features are defined:

Atomic Encryption Change - allows encrypted links to change their encryption keys periodically, increasing security, and also allowing role switches on an encrypted link.
Extended Inquiry Response - provides more information during the inquiry procedure to allow better filtering of devices before connection. This information includes the name of the device, and a list of services, with other information.
Sniff Subrating - reducing the power consumption when devices are in the sniff low power mode, especially on links with asymmetric data flows. HId devices are expected to benefit the most with mice and keyboards increasing the battery life from 3 to 10 times those currently used.
QoS Improvements - these will enable audio and video data to be transmitted at a higher quality, especially when best effort traffic is being transmitted in the same piconet.
Simple Pairing - this improvement will radically improve the pairing experience for Bluetooth devices, while at the same time increasing the use and strength of security. It is expected that this feature will significantly increase the use of Bluetooth.
Bluetooth Heasdsets
The version of Bluetooth after Lisbon, code-named Seattle, has a number of features, but the main one announced is the allignment with UltraWideBand. This will allow the use of Bluetooth profiles over the UWB radio, enabling very fast data transfers, synchronizations and file pushes, while also building on the low power idle modes of Bluetooth. The combination of a low power radio used when no data needs to be transmitted, and a high data rate radio used to transmit the bulk data could be the start of the software radios. Bluetooth, given its worldwide regulatory approval, lowest power operation, and extremely robust data transmission capabilities provides an ideal signalling channel to enable the soft radio concept to start with WiMedia UWB.

Bluetooth Heasdsets
Technical information

Communication & Connection
A Bluetooth device playing the role of the "master" can communicate with up to 7 devices playing the role of the "slave". This network of "group of up to 8 devices" (1 master + 7 slaves) is called a piconet.

At any given time, data can be transferred between the master and 1 slave; but the master switches rapidly from slave to slave in a round-robin fashion. (Simultaneous transmission from the master to multiple slaves is possible, but not used much in practice). Either device may switch the master/slave role at any time.

Bluetooth specification allows connecting 2 or more piconets together to form a scatternet, with some devices acting as a bridge by simultaneously playing the master role in one piconet and the slave role in another piconet. These devices have yet to come, though are supposed to appear next year (2007).
Bluetooth Heasdsets
Setting up connections
Any Bluetooth device will transmit the following sets of information on demand

Device Name
Device Class
List of services
Technical information eg: device features, manufacturer, Bluetooth specification, clock offset
Any thing may perform an "inquiry" to find other devices to which to connect, and any device can be configured to respond to such inquiries. However if the device trying to connect knows the address of the device it will always respond to direct connection requests and will transmit the information shown in the list above if requested for it. Use of the device's services however may require pairing or its owner to accept but the connection itself can be started by any device and be held until it goes out of range. Some devices can only be connected to one device at a time and connecting to them will prevent them from connecting to other devices and showing up in inquiries until they disconnect the other device.

Every device has a unique 48-bit address. However these addresses are generally not shown in inquiries and instead friendly "Bluetooth names" are used which can be set by the user, and will appear when another user scans for devices and in lists of paired devices. Most phones have the Bluetooth name set to the manufacturer and model of the phone by default. Most phones and laptops will only show the Bluetooth names and special programs are required to get additional information about remote devices. This can get confusing with activities such as Bluejacking as there could be several phones in range named "T610" for example. On Nokia phones and the Siemens SX1 the Bluetooth address may be found by entering "*#2820#". On computers running Linux the address and class of a USB Bluetooth dongle may be found by entering "hciconfig hci0 class" as root ("hci0" may need to be replaced by another device name).

Nokia Accessories

Nokia Accessories
Nokia Original Accessories
There are several reasons why only Nokia original accessories are the best enhancements for your Nokia phone:
Designed specifically for fit and compatibility with Nokia phones
Exceptional quality and reliability
Proven performance through extensive testing in both design and production
High quality materials
All accessories backed by Nokia's limited warranty.
Nokia Accessories
What about 'Nokia-compatible' accessories?
You'll find plenty of products in all kinds of stores and online shopping sites that claim compatibility with Nokia mobile phone models. Before you buy, please be aware that, unless the product bears the Nokia original accessories stamp logo, it won’t be manufactured by Nokia or a company that Nokia works with. You should carefully consider the quality and reliability of such products, and whether they are really 100% compatible with your Nokia phone.
Nokia Accessories

Cheap Nokia 8310

Cheap Nokia 8310 - an oldy but a goldy:

Nokia 8310:
Nokia
8310


The first thing to catch your eye with the Nokia 8310 is it's colourful complex,
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Nokia
Mobile Phones

The Nokia 8310 is the ultimate personal phone, a chameleon that can take a multitude of potential colour combinations with it's tridimensional surface decor. It breaks new ground in mobile phone design providing a personal fashion tech accessory for people who want to express their unique personal style while having access to the very latest mobile services.
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Every aspect of the Nokia 8310 mobile phone offers an exciting new perspective on mobile communication. But it's the Nokia 8310's perfect blend of design, lifestyle and technology that really dazzles. Experience how instant digital services with WAP and GPRS, stylish design and the latest colours, integrated FM radio, and advanced voice features synchronize perfectly with your extraordinary way of living!
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A choice of nine different translucent changeable covers means you can mix and match to get the look you want.
Second Hand Mobile Phones
GPRS provides instant access to mobile Internet services, so you can get the latest news or check the listings for the local cinema.
Second Hand Mobile Phones
FM radio with dual headset for convenient call and radio management gives you music on the go.
Second Hand Mobile Phones
Along with voice dialing, voice command, and voice recording, you can also use voice commands to start the radio and change user profiles.
Second Hand Mobile Phones