Welcome to my second blog, and thank you for your comments and emails.
Over the next two weeks, I want to discuss Bluetooth – and how it has changed the way we connect.
What exactly is Bluetooth?
A Google search on “Bluetooth” produced approximately 127,000,000 hits.
Consulting the Wikipedia, I gleaned the following:
“Bluetooth was named after a late tenth century king, Harald Bluetooth King of Denmark and Norway. He is known for his unification of previously warring tribes from Denmark (including Scania, present-day Sweden, where the Bluetooth technology was invented), and Norway. Bluetooth likewise was intended to unify different technologies, such as computers and mobile phones.
The name may have been inspired less by the historical Harald than the loose interpretation of him in The Long Ships by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson, a Swedish Viking-inspired novel.
The Bluetooth logo merges the Nordic runes analogous to the modern Latin H and B: (haglaz) and (berkanan) forming a bind rune.”
Ok, so now we know…
Who is behind Bluetooth?
The Bluetooth Consortium was founded in 1998 by Nokia, Intel, Ericsson and IBM. In 1999 they were joined by Microsoft, Motorola, 3Com, Lucent Technologies. Currently, all members (with the exception of Lucent and 3Com) are still in the group. Most mobile phone and personal computer manufacturers have licensed Bluetooth technology in their products.
Science or Science Fiction?
Those of us who are Star Trek fans know that a Bluetooth style headset was first used by Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols). According to “The Star Trek Encyclopedia – A Reference Guide to the Future” by Michael and Denise Okuda, Uhura was the Communications officer aboard the original Starship Enterprise under Commander James Kirk. Her ear receiver was a small electronic device used by Starfleet personnel for personal monitoring of audio information without the inconvenience of a loudspeaker that might interfere with nearby personnel. It was also used by Spock.
Moving back to the 21st Century, Bluetooth devices have become a commonplace. Now in their third generation, Bluetooth has become a standard feature in the majority of mobile phones.
If you are like me, the increased popularity, improved audio quality and realistic pricing of Bluetooth headsets are a blessing. I don’t know how many times I have closed my car door only to hear the sickening crunch of the door crushing my wired personal hands free ear piece. (Something I have not yet done to my Bluetooth headsets thankfully…maybe because it is around my ear?) Not to mention the near impossible task of untangling the wires when carrying at least two headsets in my pocket, and trying to find the right one for the phone I am using at the time.
The final straw in moving from wired headsets to Bluetooth came when I was attempting to leave the car park at work, and nearly choked myself on my ID badge getting caught around the personal hands free’s wires.
The early Bluetooth hands-free devices
The original Bluetooth hands-free I used was made by Ericsson – and resembled a 5cm boom microphone at the end of a bulb that sat against your ear... and yes... it did emit a cool blue light when you were using it. Talk time was about an hour – on a good day, and you certainly knew if the charge was running out as the crackling noise sounded like you were talking through a piece of cellophane.
The Ericsson HBH15 Bluetooth Headset circa 20001
Being “wireless” and “mobile” – the obvious trap was to walk away from your phone and lose the call once you went more than 10 meters from it.
Another trap in early Bluetooth devices was the lack of compatibility between manufacturers. The standard was far from being a standard. And of course – it was not reliable to use as a wired hands free replacement if you needed to make several (long) calls during the day.
Today however, the vision of the early Consortium members has become a reality.
Bluetooth is everywhere. Its in my car, attached to my iPod, in my laptop, attached to my home sound system, hanging off my sunglasses, and in my clothes. You could say I am a Bluetooth junkie.
The reality is – Bluetooth meets most of my needs for hands free talking – both at my desk and in the car. It also lets me listen to my music without getting tangled in wires.
To be continued………