What is Bluetooth? At Bluetoothit.com, we get this question all the time – “So, what is Bluetooth, anyway?” Bluetooth is a short range wireless standard and specification developed in the late 1990’s for voice and data transmissions.  It involves a transceiver (a transmitter and receiver combination) for both devices sending digital “packets” back and forth via radio waves.  You're already familiar with this process. Your cordless phone at your home works the same way, though with a lot less security. Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 GHz range and is designed to work side-by-side with other networks and devices, such as Wi-Fi networks(802.11a-b-g) that operate in the same frequency band.

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A Little Background
Back in 1998 the first Bluetooth technology specifications were put out by the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group). This is a group of companies that banded together to develop a consistent standard and specification so they could make compatible devices. As a matter of fact, on January 8, 2008 the Bluetooth SIG celebrated their 10th year anniversary. It's amazing it has taken this long for the technology to really take hold.

But I digress. When the protocol first came out, it was heralded as the "cord killer". But it fell short of expectations due to differing implementations and interpretations of the specification. Since that time the Bluetooth SIG has worked very hard with vendors and equipment manufacturers to release new versions that help make sure devices are compatible with each other across a broad spectrum of product lines.

There's the quick history of Bluetooth technology. If you are ready to get practical, here's how to actually connect your phone to your headset.

More Resources
For more detailed and technical information, please check out this very comprehensive, but well written FAQ on mobileinfo.com, at http://www.mobileinfo.com/Bluetooth/FAQ.htm

Bluetooth.com also has a good FAQ – located here:
http://bluetooth.com/Bluetooth/SIG/FAQ/

And PaloWireless really lays it out:
http://www.palowireless.com/INFOTOOTH/tutorial.asp

And of course there is the Wikipedia page on Bluetooth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth

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