"Bluetooth" (Bluetooth) was originally a king in the 10th century to unify Denmark, who united Sweden, Finland and Denmark at that time. Naming this new technology standard after him means unifying a fragmented situation. Bluetooth technology uses advanced technologies such as high-speed frequency hopping (FH, Frequency Hopping) and time division multiple access (TDMA, Time DivesionMuli-access) to most cheaply connect several digitalized devices in close proximity (various mobile devices, fixed communication devices, computers and their terminal equipment, various digital Data systems, such as digital cameras, digital video cameras, and even a variety of household appliances, automation equipment) in a network link. Bluetooth technology will be the network of a variety of peripheral devices interface to the unified bridge, which eliminates the connection between the device, replaced by a wireless connection.
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless communication technology that allows electronic devices to be connected to each other via Bluetooth, eliminating the need for traditional wires. Through the wireless receiver on the chip, electronic products equipped with Bluetooth technology can communicate with each other within a distance of ten meters, and the transmission speed can reach 1 megabyte per second. In the past, infrared interface transmission technology required electronics to be within line-of-sight distance, but now with Bluetooth technology, such trouble can also be eliminated.
Development of Bluetooth:
Bluetooth has a lot of supporters, from the initial only five companies initiated the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has grown to now have nearly 3,000 corporate members. According to the plan, Bluetooth from the laboratory into the market through three stages:
The first stage is the Bluetooth product as an accessory used in high-end products with greater mobility. Such as cell phone headsets, laptop plug-in cards or PC cards, etc., or applied to special requirements or special occasions, such occasions only require performance and functionality, and less price-sensitive, this stage of the time about the end of 2001 to the end of 2002.
The second stage is that Bluetooth products are embedded in mid-range and high-end products, such as PDAs, cell phones, PCs, laptops, and so on. The price of Bluetooth will be further reduced, it is estimated that its chip price of about 10 U.S. dollars, and the relevant testing and certification work will be initially improved. This time period is 2002 to 2005.
The third stage is after 2005, Bluetooth into home appliances, digital cameras and a variety of other electronic products, Bluetooth network everywhere, Bluetooth applications began to popularize the price of Bluetooth products in the range of 2 U.S. dollars to 5 U.S. dollars, each person may have 2-3 Bluetooth products.
For now, the marketization of Bluetooth products is in the beginning of the second phase. It is expected that by the end of 2006, Bluetooth will have more than 1 billion wireless users, including more than 500 million users using wireless Internet access services. Third-generation mobile communications technology will provide a larger market for Bluetooth interconnectivity, which allows cell phones, portable devices, personal computers, laptops and third-party access devices to connect to each other. The number of devices with Bluetooth modules installed will increase from less than one million in 2001 to 1.6 billion in 2006.
The primary market for Bluetooth technology will be low-end wireless networking, providing the simplicity and convenience of wireless networking that the industry originally developed as the "Bluetooth" standard.
Comparison of infrared and Bluetooth
Infrared technology features
Infrared communication technology is suitable for low-cost, cross-platform, point-to-point, high-speed data connectivity, especially for embedded systems.
The main applications of infrared technology: device interconnection, information gateway. After the equipment interconnection can be completed in different equipment, the exchange of documents and information. The information gateway is responsible for connecting information terminals to the Internet.
Infrared communication technology has been supported and adopted by many hardware and software vendors around the world, and the current mainstream software and hardware platforms all provide support for it. Infrared technology has been widely used in mobile computing and mobile communication devices.
Bluetooth Characteristics
Bluetooth technology was proposed as a "cable replacement" technology, and has evolved into a personal information network technology. It interconnects devices with embedded Bluetooth chips to provide access to voice and data, and to realize the automatic exchange and processing of information.
Bluetooth is targeted at three main categories of applications: voice/data access, peripheral interconnections, and personal LANs. Voice/data access is to connect a computing device to a communication device through a secure wireless link to complete the interconnection with a wide-area communication network. Peripheral device interconnection is the connection of various peripherals to a host computer via a Bluetooth link. The primary application of a personal LAN is the ****enjoyment and exchange of personal networks and information.
Bluetooth technology has gained the response of more than two thousand companies, thus having a huge development and production capacity. Bluetooth already has a high level of visibility and consumer interest in the technology.