Look for this logo on all Bluetooth wireless technology enabled products.

Everyone has a cell phone. And a lot of people don't think twice about answering a call in their vehicle by checking to see who's calling, and then putting the phone to their ear. That requires taking your eyes and at least one hand off the road. But with Bluetooth^® in your car, there's no need to take your hands off the wheel or your eyes off the road — just talk. Your phone call is broadcast through your car's speakers.

But that's just one application, the tip of the iceberg so to speak, as we move further toward a life without wires. Welcome to the world of Bluetooth wireless technology.

What is Bluetooth?

Developed by engineers at Ericsson in the late 1990s, Bluetooth is an increasingly popular technology that enables short-range wireless communication between a variety of electronic devices. Its most significant feature is that it allows devices to "talk" (transfer and synchronize data) wirelessly with one another, eliminating the need for the seemingly endless tangle of cords, cables, and adapters necessary for a lot of today's technology.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was founded in 1998 to oversee the development and introduction of Bluetooth technology. Intel, IBM, Nokia, and Toshiba joined Ericsson as the founding members of the SIG, and more than 8,000 companies have signed on since.

In order to sell products with the Bluetooth specification and logo, manufacturers must be members of the SIG and the devices must meet well-outlined qualifications. These guidelines ensure that Bluetooth wireless devices worldwide can communicate with one another, regardless of manufacturer or country of origin.

The Bluetooth enabled Pioneer DEH-P9800BT lets users control their cell phones wirelessly via their car stereo.

• Why is it called Bluetooth?
  The Bluetooth wireless specification got its name from Harald Blaatand (translates to "Bluetooth"), a 10th-century Danish king who used diplomacy to negotiate a truce between two feuding factions. In fact, the Bluetooth logo is an overlay of the Danish characters for the king's initials: H.B.

  The 21st century's Bluetooth does essentially the same thing — facilitating communication among devices that don't typically interact with one another — leading to some exciting possibilities.

• Range and speed
  Typically, devices with Bluetooth technology have a range of 10 meters (about 30 feet), and data transfer rates up to 3 megabits (375 kilobytes) per second. That makes Bluetooth technology suitable for transferring smaller files such as text documents and cell phone contacts, as well as lower-quality images and audio. At these transfer speeds, Bluetooth can't really handle streaming video or high-quality images and audio at this point, but this will all change when Bluetooth 3.0 is introduced. Note: In order to stream video and TV signals, a connection speed of at least 10 Mbps is needed.

• Walls? No problem.
  Since products featuring Bluetooth technology operate on radio frequencies, walls, handbags, clothes pockets and other obstacles don't get in the way of transmissions, enabling a level and ease of connectivity with an enormous upside.

Continue to the next page to read more about the advantages and limitations of Bluetooth wireless technology.