What is HomeRF ?
A: HomeRF like Bluetooth is a specification for connectivity and mobility in a home-like environment. HomeRF Working Group has developed a specification for wireless communications in the home called the Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP).

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devarajan

Are different brands of Bluetooth products compatible?
A: Yes. They have to. The Bluetooth Logo Certification Program requires Bluetooth products to interoperate with products manufactured by other vendors; those products that don't interoperate will not be allowed to use the Bluetooth logo.

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devarajan

Can Bluetooth products be used on aircraft?
A: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other aviation regulatory bodies worldwide are currently reviewing the use of Bluetooth products on private and commercial aircraft. In the U.S. the FAA is the governing body to grant approval for Bluetooth product use on aircraft; therefore, we must defer to their impending ruling.

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devarajan

What companies are involved in the Bluetooth initiative?
A: Global technology leaders Ericsson, Nokia, IBM, Intel and Toshiba founded the Bluetooth SIG in 1998. These companies are now supported by over 1,000 other organizations with a wide range of expertise, including Widcomm, Inc.

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devarajan

What types of companies are likely to adopt or promote Bluetooth technology?
A: Companies likely to adopt this technology include, but are not limited to, software developers, network vendors, silicon vendors, peripheral and camera manufacturers, mobile PC and handheld device manufacturers, consumer electronics manufacturers and more.

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devarajan

Are there any patents or licenses involved?
A: Yes, there are several patents on different parts of the technology. Because of this, all licensees will have to sign a zero cost license agreement to cover IP and naming.

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devarajan

What is the estimated size of the market?
A: Market research studies at several leading companies involved with Bluetooth technology expect a total of 250 million Bluetooth-enabled devices, ranging from headsets to mobile and desktop computers, will be shipped in 2002.

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devarajan

Where can I get Bluetooth specification ? Is it license free ?
A: Bluetooth specification can be downloaded from Bluetooth.com which has more comprehensive information about Bluetooth.com and its SIG. It is totally free and no license is required to use it.

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devarajan

Is Bluetooth an IEEE standard, like IEEE 802.11 and Ethernet?
A: Being an IEEE standard will be a big plus to widespread adoption of Bluetooth, and IEEE 802.15 working group for personal area networks (PAN) announced that they will be adopting Bluetooth as the IEEE 802.15 standard.

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devarajan

How much will Bluetooth devices cost?
A: Bluetooth devices are expected to cost $20 initially (first half of 2000); but will drop to around $5 with widespread adoption and economies of scale.

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devarajan

What is it - a technology, a standard, an initiative, or a product?
A: Bluetooth wireless technology is a de facto standard, as well as a specification for small-form factor, low-cost, short range radio links between mobile PCs, mobile phones and other portable devices. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group is an industry group consisting of leaders in the telecommunications, computing, and networking industries that are driving development of the technology and bringing it to market.

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devarajan

Bluetooth Versus 802.11b Wireless LANs

There is a debate going on regarding the merits of two technologies, rather three technologies - Wireless LANs, Bluetooth and wide area wireless networks. The protagonists (generally the vendors or consultants experienced in only one technology) extend the capabilities of their favorite technology against the other.

1. Bluetooth has lower distance range ( less than 30 feet) than 802.11b (up to 200 feet). Therefore, you would need many more access points to cover the same area of an office. Simple mathematics will show that you may need as many as 20-50 times the number of access points.
2. Bluetooth has generally lower speed than that of 802.11b wireless LANs.
3. Bluetooth components (chips and radios) and device adapters are cheaper than wireless LAN components and adapters.
4. Bluetooth chips have lower power consumption - less drain on battery.
5. Bluetooth is more appropriate and affordable technology for communication between smart phones and other accessories or between PDAs and information kiosks.
6. Bluetooth is younger technology, and therefore is less mature. However, it has a huge following. Purely because of the potential and future expectation built by the Bluetooth vendors, there were over 2000 vendors signed up as members of Bluetooth forum There is a good developers following as well. Wireless LAN industry is smaller but more mature.
7. It is not fair to run comparisons between Bluetooth and WLAN regarding the number of chips being shipped or expected to be shipped for either technology. Because of its price and the type of products where it is going into, Bluetooth will soon surpass 802.11 chip shipments but dollar volume might still be smaller for some time. Ultimately, Bluetooth dollar volume is expected to catch up.
8. Bluetooth will go beyond cable replacement in short distances between handheld devices and handheld devices and a kiosk or local server. It will meet the needs of connecting devices at the edge node of a network.
9. Bluetooth and wireless LANs address different wireless connectivity requirements. Therefore, the two technologies need not and should not compete with each other. If Bluetooth community would not get offended, 802.11b is the big brother and Bluetooth is the younger brother.
10. We also see emergence of technologies that bring the two together. Bluetooth access points like Red-M's 1050 connect Bluetooth devices to wireless LANs. See Multi Mode Access Point page on our site.

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devarajan

oexistence of Bluetooth and WiFi:

Several vendors ( Intersil, Silicon Wave and Mobilian) are building chips that will support both technologies in the same card. This will enable each of the two technologies to be used for what they are best suited to do. Chip set provider Intersil and Bluetooth radio maker Silicon Wave annunced reference design that allows simultaneous operation of two protocols. Both operate in the same band. The vendors seems to be addressing interference issues between the two technologies. Blue802 technology uses a time-slicing technique in which two protocols switch back and forth fast enough to give the appearance of simultaneous operation.

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Regards,
devarajan