What Makes Bluetooth Tick?

How far the Bluetooth devices communicate is controlled by the CLASS of the Bluetooth devices. Class 1 will have a range of approximately 300 feet (100 meters), Class 2 approximately 30 feet (10 meters), and Class 3 approximately 3 feet (1 meter). How fast, and what PROFILES (see below) are used is controlled, in many ways, by the VERSIONS of the Bluetooth devices (most newer versions are backwards compatible). The original version was (surprisingly) version 1.0. This was followed by versions 1.0B, 1.1, Headset_IMthe much improved 1.2, 2.0 and finally 2.1. Version 2.0 introduced what is called Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) to Bluetooth. With the help of EDR, Bluetooth 2.0 and newer devices currently communicate at approximately 3.0 megabits/second (in real life situations, they have an effective rate of around 2.1 megabits/second). Be advised that some Bluetooth implementers remove the EDR feature from version 2.0.




PROFILES basically are what a particular Bluetooth device can do. This is controlled by the type of Bluetooth STACK used. The basic stack can also have more profiles added via drivers used when installing the Bluetooth device. A stack is very simply the communication protocol used for Bluetooth communication. An example of a stack is the Microsoft Windows stack implemented with service pack 2 of Windows XP. Some examples of Profiles are Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) which allows high quality stereo audio to be streamed; Basic Imaging Profile (BIP) for sending images; Basic Printing Profile (BPP) for simple print jobs; Hands-Free Profile (HFP) for using hands free cell phone kits in cars and of course the very popular Headset Profile (HSP) for using headsets with mobile phones. There are of course many more profiles, but this gives you the idea behind them.