The Bluetooth 1.0 Specification: Dreaming of a Wire-Free World

It’s the summer of 1999, and if you look behind my desk, you’ll see a nightmare of serial cables, parallel cables, and proprietary mouse connectors. We’ve been promised a wireless future for years, but infrared (IrDA) is a pain—you have to point the devices directly at each other. But the new Bluetooth 1.0 specification is aiming to change that with short-range radio.

2.4GHz of Freedom

Bluetooth operates in the 2.4GHz ISM band, which means it doesn't need a license to use. It uses frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) to avoid interference from other devices (like microwave ovens). The idea is that your phone, your laptop, and your headset will all just "talk" to each other in a small personal area network (PAN).

The "Connecting" Problem

While the spec is out, it’s still early days. The 1.0 version has some serious interoperability issues. Getting two devices from different manufacturers to pair is currently a roll of the dice. And the data rate—at roughly 721 kbps—isn't going to replace Ethernet anytime soon, but it’s plenty for a mouse or a voice link.

The Name and the Legend

I love the fact that it’s named after a 10th-century Viking king, Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, who united Scandinavian tribes. It’s a fitting metaphor for a technology trying to unite disparate devices.

I don't expect to see many Bluetooth devices on the market until next year, but the potential is enormous. Imagine being able to sync your PalmPilot to your PC just by walking into the room. It sounds like science fiction, but with the 1.0 spec finalized, it’s now just a matter of engineering.