Bluetooth wireless technology is a short-range radio technology. Bluetooth wireless technology makes it possible to transmit signals over short distances between telephones, computers and other devices and thereby simplify communication and synchronization between devices.

It is a global standard that:
- eliminates wires and cables between both stationary and mobile devices
- facilitates both data and voice communication
- offers the possibility of ad hoc networks and delivers the ultimate synchronicity between all your personal devices

The Bluetooth wireless technology comprises hardware, software and interoperability requirements. Beyond unleashing devices by replacing cables, Bluetooth wireless technology provides a universal bridge to existing data networks, a peripheral interface, and a mechanism to form small private ad hoc groupings of connected devices away from fixed network infrastructures.Bluetooth radio uses a fast acknowledgement and frequency-hopping scheme to make the link robust, even in noisy radio environments.

Bluetooth is the name of a protocol for a short range (10 meter) frequency-hopping 2.4 GHz radio link between wireless devices such as a mobile phone and a PC. The idea is to make connections between different electronic items much easier and simpler, and without a lot of operator intervention. Bluetooth was launched in 1998 as a joint effort between Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba. Over 1000 companies are now involved in the effort -- so you can see that it has stirred a lot of interest in the wireless community. Products are now being produced and shipped in huge quantities (around 13% of all mobile phones in 2004), despite recent security concerns that have arisen. Will Bluetooth take over the wireless market? Or will other competing technologies that offer faster data rates or greater security win out?

Below is some information on this technology -- what it is, tutorial information, reference books, and links to more online information about the protocol.

Bluetooth is a complicated technology composted of many parts. Internally, you will find a radio, a baseband controller, a link manager, a logical link control and adaptation protocol manager, a host controller interface, and an application program interface library. Learn how all these components function and interact within the Bluetooth technology.

Bluetooth is a dynamic standard where devices can automatically find each other, establish connections, and discover what they can do for each other on an ad hoc basis. The following tutorials illustrate these basic concepts.