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Bluetooth: dead or alive?

Posted on 21 Nov 2002 at 15:36

'Next, do some processing and understand which radio channel the Bluetooth radio will switch to next; a clue is that it will be on one of the other 78 channels available, but keep working quickly as you've only got 625 micro seconds to do this since the start of step two.

'You got this far? Pretty good! Go back to step two and repeat. Still with us? Fantastic! Okay, you've got two packets. Since the data rate of the Bluetooth session could be running at 768Kb/sec, that equates to 0.02604 per cent based on 100-byte packets of user data per second. By the way, don't forget to check those packet-sequence numbers and CRC checks so you can postulate what order the packets go in and whether they contain real or corrupted data.

'Still got a signal? Make sure you stay within 10m. We're truly amazed you're still with us. Want a job? Okay, it's back to step two again. By the way, time for another tip - those radio packets may contain lots of different things, it may not be data at all.

'Getting tough now, breathe deeply! Okay, if it's not data, what is it? It could be voice! Try not to scream like that. It might spook the person you're following. Yes, that's right, Bluetooth can carry voice and data. Did you bring the voice-decoding software algorithm with you?'

PROBLEMS, PROBLEMS
So this is a technology that seems to have it all - it's secure, powerful and affordable. But it has a problem. Unless you happen to be technically literate to the point where computer nerds look at you nervously, getting your Bluetooth products working together seamlessly is stupidly difficult.

For example, installing a Bluetooth USB adaptor can introduce no less than five virtual COM ports to your PC. Although the manufacturer of the adaptor produces its own software to control all these interfaces, there's no guarantee that the manufacturer of your PDA or phone is handling things in the same way. Take a look at The out-of-box experience: making Bluetooth work, opposite, for details of our experiences.

Sad as it is to admit, Bluetooth is crying out for support from the most important company of all: Microsoft. It desperately needs built-in support in Windows, just as Microsoft belatedly introduced support for 802.11b in Windows XP.

Microsoft has just released software to manufacturers that will hopefully solve many of Bluetooth's problems. 'It will make it easier for manufacturers to issue a standard Bluetooth stack,' said Microsoft's Weeks. 'Before, you were reliant on manufacturers to write a good driver for the device. If manufacturers wrote to their own standards, people could get a blue screen in Windows. This release will improve interoperability.'

Microsoft admits that support has been a long time coming, but Weeks promised that the wait has been worthwhile. 'We've got some really high goals to make sure customers get a good experience. They need to know that Bluetooth is going to work. People want simple, easy devices they don't need to configure.'

The bad news is that it will be three to six months before we see the fruits of Microsoft's endeavours, in the form of updated software and drivers from manufacturers. And they will only work if Service Pack 1 is installed on your Windows XP machine.

DAGGERS AT DAWN
So Bluetooth isn't dead, but it's far from being in A1 health. The out-of-box experience is being addressed, but we must trust in Microsoft and the various manufacturers that in six months' time devices will work together seamlessly. We also need more PDAs, phones and notebooks with built-in Bluetooth.