Red-M 1050AP

Wireless access points are becoming a more familiar sight in the modern-day office, thanks to the low price of wireless starter kits. However, when it comes to PDAs or less demanding networking needs, 802.11b's full bandwidth isn't required and its high-power requirements become more of an issue. This is where Bluetooth has benefits, and you can now take advantage of this, thanks to Red-M's 1050AP Bluetooth LAN access point.

The 1050AP is a standalone access point that provides a gateway into your network for any Bluetooth-enabled device. It's not intended to replace 802.11b, but merely to supplement it for applications such as Bluetooth-enabled PDAs.

The 1050AP operates in a similar way to an 802.11b access point, in that it can obtain an IP address via DHCP, and then allow users access to the Internet through the corporate network. If your network doesn't support DHCP, the device will default to a standard IP, which you can use to access its internal Web server. This is a slick affair, which lets you set up the 1050AP on your network quickly and easily.

For those nervous about putting a Bluetooth access point on their network, the Web server also allows you to configure security settings. The 1050AP supports PPP - meaning only authorised users can have access - and data encryption. You can also set the authentication and accessibility modes for extra security, should you need it. This allows you, for example, to set the access point to be connectable, but not discoverable, meaning that a drive-by Bluetooth user won't be able to see your access point and attempt to connect to it.

The 1050AP supports piconets and can accept connections from up to seven devices at once. To enable this, however, you must allocate a pool of at least seven IP addresses for the connecting devices to use. Alternatively, you can simply use a point-to-point connection by changing the aerial settings.

Once configured, the access point was quickly discovered by a Handspring Visor Prism using Red-M's Blade (reviewed below) and a Palm m500 using Palm's Bluetooth SD Card (reviewed opposite). Connection and pairing worked perfectly, and both devices could be viewed and managed from the browser interface.

However, connecting using a Compaq iPAQ was far less intuitive, as was setting up a LAN connection with a notebook using a 3Com Bluetooth card. Granted, these issues are more to do with the connecting equipment rather than the 1050AP, but it's obvious Bluetooth still has a long way to go.

Taking things a step further, you can also add the 3000AS server and daisy chain up to seven access points to provide extended coverage, all managed using Red-M's Genos wirelessware software. This aims to provide a scalable wireless architecture that can deliver content and specific services via a centrally managed network. With Genos, you can also have different users with varied access rights (such as some with Web access, but not network), as well as numerous other features suited to a larger organisation.

The Red-M 1050AP is a great introduction to Bluetooth network access. It's simple to configure, thanks to an excellent Web browser interface, and works well. If you have a Bluetooth-enabled PDA or notebook, the 1050AP is a great first step to getting the most out of it.

Author: Gareth Ogden