Windows XP braced for Bluetooth

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 27 Sep 2002 at 11:21

Microsoft said yesterday that it would release an update to computer builders that would add Bluetooth support to Windows XP.

Bluetooth took a bit of a knock when it was absent from Windows XP at launch. At the time Microsoft said this was because of a sparsity of commercial hardware around on which to test it.

However it has now put its weight behind the technology. Jim Cauthorn, the Hardware group's Lead Product Planner told us: 'It is extremely well positioned as a technology.'

Windows users will get the chance to add Bluetooth support themselves via an update available through the XP Automatic Update feature, although SP1 for XP will have to be installed first.

It is not clear when a download will be made generally available, but it is not impossible that this would be before Christmas as new products hit the shelves in the buying season. The update is expected to appear on new computers in three to six months' time.

Bluetooth certainly has made inroads since last year, with products such as Sony Ericsson's T68i phone, Toshiba and HP Pocket PC handhelds and HP printers offering the technology.

Apple added Bluetooth support to OSX in August last year with version 10.2 of the operating system.

Bluetooth is a wireless technology with a range of 10m and a bandwidth of around 730Kbits/sec. Its low power consumption makes it ideal for portable devices. The protocol allows one Bluetooth device to create an ad hoc network with up to seven others, and these networks can interconnect, creating a scatternet. The range can be boosted up to 100m with a powered base station.