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| Why Use Bluetooth? |
• What is the difference between Bluetooth wireless technologies and other technologies, such as UWB, 802.11g, 802.11a, 802.11b, WLAN, Wi-Fi, AirPort, Infrared, and Zigbee?
• Is Bluetooth practical for use with mobile devices?
• Will other RF (Radio Frequency) devices interfere with Bluetooth Devices?
• Bluetooth Power Classes
• Bluetooth Security Modes
• Bluetooth Security Levels |
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What is the difference between Bluetooth wireless technologies and other technologies, such as UWB, 802.11g, 802.11a, 802.11b, WLAN, Wi-Fi, AirPort, Infrared, and Zigbee?
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While there are many differences, key among them are
range, power consumption and intended use. Bluetooth wireless technology in its
most common implementations has a range of 30 feet (10m), is low-power
consuming, designed for battery operated mobile devices and provides voice, data
and audio connections between devices. |
| Is Bluetooth practical for use with mobile devices? |
Yes. One concern for mobile computing users is power consumption. Bluetooth
radios are very low power, drawing as little as 0.3mA in standby mode and 30mA
during sustained data transmissions. Bluetooth radios alternate among
power-saving modes in which device activity is lowered to maximize the mobile
power supply. |
| Will other RF (Radio Frequency) devices interfere with Bluetooth Devices? |
No. Bluetooth radios operate on the unlicensed 2.4 GHz (Industrial, Scientific
and Medical) frequency band that is shared among other devices (microwave ovens,
cordless phones, garage door openers, etc. ). Bluetooth radios switch
frequencies at such a rapid pace (1,600 times per second) and the data packets
are so small that interference from other RF sources is highly unlikely.
Bluetooth is a robust communication system |
| Bluetooth Power Classes |
Bluetooth provides three types of power classes, although class 3 devices are
not in general availability.
| Type |
Power Level |
Operating Range |
| Class 3 Devices |
100mW |
Up to 100 meters |
| Class 2 Devices |
10mW |
Up to 10 meters |
| Class 1 Devices |
1mW |
0.1-10 meters |
Bluetooth security is based upon device authentication, not user
authentication. Each device is either trusted or un-trusted. Bluetooth devices
are identified by unique 48-bit identifiers, much like Ethernet MAC addresses. |
| Bluetooth Security Modes |
Bluetooth features three security modes.
| Mode |
Name |
Description |
| 1 |
Non-secure |
No security is implemented |
| 2 |
Service-level security |
Access is granted to individual services |
| 3 |
Link-level security |
Security is enforced at a common level for all applications at the
beginning of the connection |
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| Bluetooth Security Levels |
Bluetooth features three possible security levels.
| Mode |
Description |
| 3 |
No authentication or authorization is required |
| 2 |
Authentication is required; authorization is not required |
| 1 |
Authorization and authentication are required |
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