Bluetooth vs. Infrared

Bluetooth vs. Infrared
Undeniably, Bluetooth technology has its application-base firmly founded in Infrared.
Even today, manufacturers have not abandoned this tried and trusted technology for the more omnipresent wireless equivalent. Take a closer look at your cellular phone
and your notebook computer: Infrared-enabled? Again, take a closer look at your cellular
phone and your notebook computer: Bluetooth- or WiFi-enabled? If you place
two Infrared-enabled notebooks unassumingly beside each other you will become
bemused as you begin to hear “whooshing” and “whirring” sounds along with an
impromptu notification on your Windows taskbar informing you that you can
now connect to your colleague’s computer and transfer files. Similarly, placing your
Infrared-enabled cellular phone alongside your computer would unassumingly instigate
communication whilst in line-of-sight. This ability and sheer simplicity conveys
a degree of confidence that has been unmatched by any other wireless technology
to date (with the undeniable exception of the cellular market). A clear notification
of intent to transfer files or any other information is visibly made clear to the user
and, moreover, the impromptu notification allows the user to review any potential
transactions. In Chapter 14, we discuss a similar notion of enabling communication
between two devices.
But, does line-of-sight really matter? No. However, the founding premise of
Bluetooth is that you no longer need to point at a device to make it do something.
Bluetooth wireless technology has a lot to live up to: as we have already discussed and
highlighted there is a certain element of success within the cellular industry. Moreover,
Bluetooth now needs to encompass a wider market and maintain the offer of simplicity
for it to succeed.