Cutting the cords

You chose to buy a new cellphone. A Nokia 7650 that is feature packed and exquisite
to use. It has it all, Microsoft Outlook synchronisation, a digital camera,
MLsync, java capability, colour display & more. However, on opening the
box, you discover its missing something…

where is the USB or serial cable?

Further investigation reveals there isnt one. Nokia have decided that this
device doesnt not require one. So how does one connect this device to a PC to
upload/download images? How can you synchronise it to Outlook? Upload the snapshots
you have created? Where are the beloved wires?

Faced with the loss of the traditional cable, its time to read the manual for
the answer. Infrared (line of sight) or Bluetooth (radio wireless). Already
there are natural reservations, why? For example, with my own previous experiences
using infrared on my corporate notebook, it certainly wouldnt encourage my want
to go to the IR route. Short working distance (less than 3 inches from transmitting
device to receiver), slow transmissions and cumbersome setup procedures are
common reasons that users dispose of their portable handhelds. This added to
the fact that traditionally, only notebooks have an infrared port built in as
standard. Buying a costly infrared adapter would be the only way to back up
or synchronise with a workstation. Therefore, you are left with Bluetooth, a
new emerging technology you may well know nothing about (personally, I knew
nothing about it). So its time to do some research.

So is it actually a tooth thats blue?

Well no. Knowing absolutely nothing about the technology, It would be quite
reasonable to expect something “tooth” related but it isnt connected
in anyway to dentistry. Bluetooth is a wireless technology for portable devices
like PDAs, cellphones & laptops. If its bluetooth enabled, they can talk
to each other. Your PDA can talk to your notebook, your notebook can talk to
your cellphone and all combinations in between.

This is the official “how it works” description from Bluetooth.com:

Bluetooth™ wireless technology revolutionizes the personal
connectivity market by providing freedom from wired connections – enabling links
between mobile computers, mobile phones, portable handheld devices, and connectivity
to the Internet. Interface, synchronize, exchange? All of the above, and more.
Bluetooth technology redefines the very way we experience connectivity.

This sparked an interest for me personally, as I have a notebook in the office
& a cellphone which I synchronise information between everyday. Im certainly
not in a minority in that scenario.The main hassle comes when you go home. Unless
you take that USB cradle or serial cable home, you am unable to sync or backup
information from the PDA/cellphone onto your home PC. Owners of such devices,
would do this incase of the loss or damage of said PDA/phone/notebook. You can
never have enough backups! The additional hassle has always been when taking
the notebook on the road. Remembering to pack that cradle, double check you
have that cable. A small but occasionely irritating hassle that any portable
device user will tell you they have experienced at one point or another. So
maybe its time to take a gamble. Is bluetooth the answer? Could it persuade
the hardwired user to lose that trusty cradle or cable? Lets find out.

The dongle

In my instance, neither my notebook or home PC have any form of bluetooth connectivity.
So investigation revealed a surprisingly easy solution. A bluetooth USB adapter.
Small enough to fit on a keychain & usable in any PC less than 5 years old
via a USB port. Great. My lack of personal knowledge on this technology (despite
some research) prompted me to pick a brand I knew and trusted. MSI. I purchased
a PC2PC USB bluetooth adapter. The total cost to being £20 (approx $35).
Very inexpensive, a factor that could cause a potential purchaser to doubt its
abilities.

Well it does sort of look like a tooth but what is it supposed to be
able to do?

Plugged into a USB 1.1 or above USB socket on a PC, the dongle will enable
Bluetooth communication to and from the PC, to any other Bluetooth enabled device.

This is the official MSI
specification on the USB dongle:

Bluetooth Transceiving Key (MS-6967)

• Throughput About 723Kbps (data channels)
• Operating Volt. 5V from USB interface
• Operating Range Up to 100M for open space
• Regulatory Approval FCC, CE, BQB (Bluetooth Qualified)
• Temperature Storage temp: -20C~+100C
• Operating temp: -20C~+100C
• Spread Spectrum Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
• Compliant with FCC part 15
• Frequency Range 2.4 ~ 2.4835GHz (2.4GHz ISM Band)
• RF Channels 79-channel system for USA, Japan, and Europe
• Modulation GFSK, BT=0.5
• Output Power Class Bluetooth Power Class 1
• Output Power +18dBm (Max.)
• Receiver Sensitivity Better than -90dBm with BER < 0.1%
• Max Input Level -20dBm
• Power Control Yes

While impressive to the knowledgable user, confidence from the non educated
purchaser may not be too strong. All this does sound a little good to be true.
Could we proven be wrong? Being totally new to this technology, would the owner
see some teething problems? Lets plug it into the nearest available USB socket
& find out.

Software Installation

The guide recommends installing the software first. The software was installed
on Windows XP service pack1.

The software installer detects the PC host name as a device and as this setup
was trialed on a workstation, Its specified it as a desktop.

The installation stopped at this time to warn of non Microsoft certified drivers.
Microsoft have a certification program for hardware manufacturers called the
WHQL (Windows Hardware
Quality Labs). Its purpose is to “to help customers identify systems
and peripherals that meet a baseline definition of platform features and quality
goals”. Putting this into real terms means that if the hardware drivers
have passed through the Microsoft labs & been qualified, then they are very
safe to use in a Windows PC. Non-qualified drivers have been known to cause
system instability. Without qualification, this might cause problems later on.
Only time will tell.

Hardware and driver installation complete.

A check of network connections reveals a new adapter present. The bluetooth
wireless connection.

Appearances can be deceptive, so without further ado, lets test the connectivity
to the Nokia 7650.

BT phone home?

A new desktop shortcut name, “My Bluetooth Places” was created during
the bluetooth hardware installation. A click reveals a folder extremely similar
to the traditional Windows “My Network Places”.

The moment of truth, will it detect the presence of the bluetooth enabled cellphone?

In a short answer, Yes. Within seconds, the connection wizard had detected
the presence of the phone & started a communications process. Additionally,
Bluetooth allows for a secure encryption connection between devices.

For added security and authentication between a pair of devices, the user is
prompted to create a shared key (PIN Code). Security is quite obviously a high
priority, lets hope its connectivity is as important.

Communication between devices complete. A connection name created. A “network
place” if you will. Confidence growing at this point.

This far in, this installation has been smooth and troublefree. Simple to follow
wizards & no complications. The connection is present and ready for connection.
Will it connect? Will the procedure grind to a halt? Can BT phone home?

Connection Detection

The phone has now appeared connected in “My Bluetooth Places”. Alive
and ready for co-operation with the Nokia PC suite. Again, very smooth and painless
instant connection.

With the Bluetooth connection active, the nokia software detects an active
presence of the phone. On first execution, the software requires simple configuration
of a unique phone name (this would be useful if you had more than one bluetooth
enabled Nokia phone).

The PC suite allows the phone user to backup all the phones data, synchronise
data with Microsoft Outlook & upload captured photos from the inbuilt camera
in the phone.

Uploading and downloading images captured on the camera or from the host PC.

Ease, speed and range

The whole installation and configuration process was completed in under 15
minutes. Quite remarkable. Initial worries were unfounded as both phone &
PC communicated seamlessly.

To test the transfer speed, 35 photos from the phone to the PC. Each photo
was 34k in size (total amount to transfer = 1.19mb). The total transfer time
was 19 seconds. Working this out correctly would determine a mean transfer time
of 62k a second. Nice and quick! Although in this instance, there is no ability
to test the equipment with a traditional wired connection, a normal routine
PDA snychronisation or backup takes minutes not seconds. Definitely an improvement.

The final test would have to be to determine how long it would stay connected,
the further away the user moved from the adapter. The phone was taken out of
the room, away from the PC & walked around a 3 storey building. Over 50+
meters distance from the PC. The signal did not drop once. Tremendous range
& stability. No more dropouts or signal death. Excellent.

Conclusion

When faced with a situation where you have no other choice, but to adopt an
unknown technology, the end user can be quite naturally wary of the “hype”
surrounding its interception. Bluetooth has been touted as THE
wireless technology for small portable devices, but has been very slow in its
adoption into the mainstream market. This would raises questions, before a purchaser
would consider taking the plunge with both the phone & the dongle. Infact,
the technology itself could be deemed as “alot of hype”.

The simple question here asked was:

Without wires and without ideas; Does Bluetooth work?

From this experience, it does indeed work brilliantly. The installation was
flawless, the instant detection a joy (if only all networks were that easy to
setup). The communication secured through encryption and PIN identification.
Again, another comforting factor, to know that your precious data is safe while
travelling through the airwaves. The speed of the transfer without question
is truly excellent in comparison to slow USB or serial connections. The range
between devices, outstanding!

While this article may have only scratched the surface of the true capabilites
and diversity of bluetooth, to know that this technology can be installed, configured
and operating within 15 minutes by a novice who has neither seen nor used this
technology before, is quite outstanding. Its been said by some, that Bluetooth
could well become an intrical part of your daily communications life. How much
of the ease of installation & configurability could lie at the door, of
the manufacturers implementing bluetooth however. MSI’s and Nokia’s software
in this instance, were extremely robust & easy to use. If all implementers
of Bluetooth follow the same path, it could most certainly grow.

On a personal note, I can say that I am totally and utterly impressed with
Bluetooth. I would never go back to serial or USB for portable devices again,
unless forced. Being able to backup my phones entire database of information
in seconds, while it is still in my coat pocket, is fantastic! My cradles &
cables will from now on, reside, gathering dust in the box where I keep my 3DFX
Voodoo3 3000.