This is a quick solo post by Brad. He just wanted to give a quick overview about one of the greatest things ever. Even better than sliced bread! Bluetooth technology.
How It Got The Name
The technology gets its name from a Viking King. In the late 10th century, King Harald of Denmark and Norway. As a USA Today 2021 article says:s
“Scholars say Harald was nicknamed “Blåtand,” meaning blue tooth, because he had a dead tooth that looked blue and dark.”
Fast forward a little bit, like a 1000 years, Jim Kardach of Intel found himself reading a book on Viking history. And that’s how he ended up suggested “Bluetooth” as a placeholder name for a new technology the company was working on. Since the Viking united Scandinavia, Jim thought it apropos for a tech that’s aim was to “unite the PC and cellular industries with a short-range wireless link.” It wasn’t intended to be the final name. But when nothing better came along, Intel ended up going with it.
As for the now iconic logo, that comes from Harald’s initial. As the Bluetooth website says:
“The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes (Hagall) (ᚼ) and (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), Harald’s initials.”
How It Works
In the simplest sense, both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are wireless connections. But there are key differences which mean that you only use the latter to connect to the internet. While they both use the radio frequency spectrum, Bluetooth has lower power, shorter range, and slower speed than Wi-Fi. You think our Wi-Fi is bad now, it would be umpteen times worse if we used Bluetooth to connect.
Bluetooth is used for things like connecting your phone to a speaker, your phone to your car, or in my case, my phone to my hearing aids. I also use Bluetooth to connect my ConnectClip to my laptop and my bionic ears. Essentially the ConnectClip acts as a bridge between my laptop and my bionic ears; allowing me to stream Zoom calls directly to my aids.
Wi-Fi is an extension of the modem; allowing you to skip hardwiring your computer to your modem with an ethernet cord. Which is especially handy for things like phones and tablets that don’t have ethernet ports!
Here’s a good comparison chart from Lifewire.com:
| Wi-Fi | Bluetooth | |
| Availability | Since 1994 | Since 1991 |
| Frequency | 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Bandwidth | 11 Mbps | 800 Kbps |
| Range | Up to 92 meters | 1 to 100 meters depending on class |
| Latency | 150 ms | 200 ms |
| Bit-rate | 2.1 Mbps | 600 Mbps |
| Typical devices | Computers, game consoles, phones, smart TVs, and internet of things (IoT) devices. | Computers, phones, input devices like mice and keyboards, fitness trackers, headsets, and smart speakers. |
| Required hardware | Wi-Fi adapter connected to each device, and a wireless router or wireless access points. | Built-in bluetooth radio or a Bluetooth adapter connected to each device. |
| Typical use | Networking | Connecting devices |
And lest you think you’re getting away without a haiku…
Here is a haiku
About Bluetooth’s tech uses.
I phoned this one in.
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