Bluetooth was designed to allow low bandwidth wireless connections to become easy to use, so even those who are new to wireless can use them.  Version 1.1 of Bluetooth describes a low power, short range wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to send data at rates up to 720 kilobits a second. The specification for Bluetooth provides for different classes of radio that allow transmission ranges of up to 100 meters...

Bluetooth devices will normally operate at 2.4 GHZ in the license free, globally available ISM radio band.  The advantage to this band includes worldwide availability and compatibility.  A disadvantage to this however, is that the devices must share this band with other RF emitters.  This includes automobile security systems, other wireless devices, and other noise sources, such as microwaves.

Below, are 10 benefits and reasons to use Bluetooth technology.

1.  Wireless  As you probably already know, there are many benefits and advantages to using wireless devices.  Along with improving safety as a result of eliminating wires you don't need, wireless also offers you plenty of other advantages.  When traveling with your laptop or other wireless devices, you'll no longer have to worry about bringing connection cables.

Version 1.1 and earlier Since the technology of Bluetooth was introduced in 1998, several specification versions have been released.  Versions 1.0 and 1.0B had too many issues and problems for manufacturers to develop devices for Bluetooth.  The main issue was the lack of communication among the devices. The core specification version 1.1 is the first successful operating version of Bluetooth. 

Bluetooth technology offers three different types of defined ranges, based on output ranges.  Class 1 devices are the most powerful, as they can have up to 100 mW of power, with a regular antenna giving them a range of around 130 - 330 feet. The class 2 devices are lower power, offering up to 2.5 mW of power. A regular antenna will give them a range of around 50 - 100 feet.  Class 3 devices use even less power, up to 1 mW of power to be exact.

In the United States, Bluetooth gets absolutely no respect.  It is however, becoming more and more common in notebooks, PDAs, and especially cell phones.  Bluetooth will provide wireless users a way to transmit small amounts of data over short distances. Now, Bluetooth is facing stiff competition from new wireless technology.  Referred to as UWB or Ultra Wideband, promises data transfer of up to 480 MB a second - while most current Bluetooth devices transfer data up to 721 KB a second.

Bluetooth is easily the best in wireless handheld technology.  When it comes to learning, Bluetooth can get quite complicated.  To help you, you'll find the key learning points of Bluetooth below:

    1.  Bluetooth is an energy efficient, low overhead communication protocol that's ideal for inter-device communications. 2.  Unlike infrared, Bluetooth doesn't require a line of sight.

The technology of Bluetooth will take small area networking to the next level by removing the need for user intervention and help keep transmission power very low to preserve battery power.  Each transmission signal to and from your cellular phone will use just 1 mw of power, giving you plenty of space on your battery to talk. Bluetooth is a networking standard that will work on two levels:

Because it meets the basic needs of connectivity in close range, Bluetooth has a very bright future ahead of it.  Bluetooth is actually the result of initiatives from nine leading communications and computer industry giants, including 3-COM, Sony, Lucent, IBM, Nokia, Microsoft, etc. Since the forming of the original group, more than 1,800 manufacturers around the world have joined the initiative.  According to reports, the Bluetooth technology is expected to be built into more than 100 million devices, with over 670 million enabled Bluetooth devices.