Bluetooth is a global technology standard that attempts to bridge the computer and

communications industries. It has been adopted by all the major players in the telecom and

computer worlds, as well as an interesting cross-section of companies in other industries—

including the home entertainment, automotive, health care, industrial automation, and toy

industries. (Yes, that’s right—Bluetooth technology can be used in children’s toys!)

While there are lots of pie-in-the-sky ideas floating around that may or may not materialize, at

the very minimum, the Bluetooth standard promises to do the following:

• Eliminate wires and cables between both stationary and mobile devices over short (30

foot) distances.

foot) distances.

• Facilitate both data and voice communication.

• Enable ad hoc networks and provide automatic synchronization between multiple

Bluetooth devices.

Bluetooth devices.

Put simply, Bluetooth technology enables short-range wireless communication—both data

and voice—between all sorts of electronic devices. This communication takes place without

the explicit manual intervention of the user; whenever one Bluetooth-enabled device detects

another Bluetooth-enabled device, the two devices automatically synch up and a type of ad

hoc wireless network is created.