BT - How do YOU use it?

Howard2k · 01-26-04, 08:50 PM

Are you a BT user? If so would you mind sharing details?

Never been a fan personally and have no other BT devices so interested in hearing what those of you who DO use it do with it.

allklrnoflr · 01-26-04, 09:19 PM

I use BT on my T3 and 4350 to grab e-mails with my BT SE T610. BT was the first form of wireless that I used until I got my 4350 with WIFI. The one great thing that I like about BT is that I can be used anywhere my phone works. It's not very good for Websurfing, kinda like dial up. For e-mail it works great. Next up is a BT headset when the prices come down....

whitelyt · 01-26-04, 09:23 PM

Since I don't have wifi at work I am using a BT dongle on my Windows 2000 workstation to sync remotely and share files. I have not tried websurfing yet or getting internet email but I will soon.

allklrnoflr · 01-26-04, 09:40 PM

Since I only used BT with my cell phone I just assumed that it only would operate at dial speeds. There is another forum here on Ipaqhq that says it can operate at speeds up to 720kps which is more than enough for websurfing. Not sure what the real time speeds tranlsate to but it is much more useful than I originally thought. I'm always surprised to see how much negativity there is about BT.

Howard2k · 01-27-04, 07:05 AM

I think it's around 400Kb/s one way and aroud 700Kb/s the other way. I know there are more exact figures floating around but they're in that ballpark.

That's bandwidth. So throughput using TCP will of course be less. Can you ping between two bluetooth devices? Does BT in a PC look just like a network card?

whitelyt · 01-27-04, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Howard2k
I think it's around 400Kb/s one way and aroud 700Kb/s the other way. I know there are more exact figures floating around but they're in that ballpark.

That's bandwidth. So throughput using TCP will of course be less. Can you ping between two bluetooth devices? Does BT in a PC look just like a network card?

Yes you should be able to ping between two BT devices as long as IP addresses are assigned to them. Certainly this would have to be the case if you can surf the web on your PPC using BT.

Bandwidth is not a problem with surfing when it comes to BT; it is the range. Class 1 BT devices can range up to 100m. The range on the iPaq devices with BT is about 10m. Of course the farther away you are the worse the throughput is.

JNGold · 01-27-04, 08:34 AM

I currently use BT for one reason only - for use with a BT GPS device.

I would like to have BT capability in my cell phone, but Verizon Wireless doesn't support any phone that have it. Hopefully the demand for more wireless devices (ie. headphones, etc) will cause more phone makers to implement BT in their phones and eventually make more providers carry the phones with the technology.

xboxlord · 01-27-04, 08:41 AM

I am thinking about getting the Bluetooth GPS that HP offers. For now, I ocassionally use my friends SonyEricsson to log onto the net via Bluetooth. But it is slower than molasses and I just tried it to see if it would actually work.

Haven't tried websurfing or anything like that.

Hmmm...just thought of something with Bluetooth. Wouldn't it be coolif the cradle had built in Bluetooth soyou can sync wirelessly without dropping another $40 on a dongle. Or WiFi built in. Maybe as an extra cradle you can buy. Okay I'mgetting ahead of myself, but that would still be hella cool!

Howard2k · 01-27-04, 08:45 AM

Hey that would be cool.... Then I guess they'd have to use TWO USB ports though right? Or build in the USB Switching capability into the cradle too. Would be very cool..

My phone that I had in England 3 years ago supported BT. Why, why why is North America so far behind the rest of the world in cellular technology.. Catching up but it's a long road.

xboxlord · 01-27-04, 08:50 AM

I know for a fact that Greece is the place with the most cell phones. On average, every person has 2 cell phones. I think their market has been flooded with cell phones, and ours is slowly moving along. Our pace is good for the companies because every year or so comes the next big revolution in cell phones, and that is usually when the contracts are over anyway.

geoff425 · 01-27-04, 09:53 AM

I use BT to sync my iPAQ to my home and work PC's.

At work, the conference rooms are within BT range so I can keep up on emails when I'm in a meeting.

At home, I use it to surf the net (its not the fastest, but it beats walking downstairs to get to the PC).

sebring · 01-27-04, 06:43 PM

I use Bluetooth to surf the net on both my Ipaq and my notebook. Just bought a Zoom Bluetooth dialup modem and it works great so far. I can surf from anywhere in my house, upstairs or downstairs without wires. Range is great.

Also use Bluetooth to hotsync with both my desktop and my notebook. Nice not having to carry cables or cradle around.

imported_dar · 01-27-04, 10:12 PM

I use BT to get on the internet using a pocketpc 5450, Sony Ericsson T610. I also use a Jabra wireless headset with the phone and I use bluetooth GPS. I do sync with my Home computer using BT.

viodea · 01-28-04, 02:09 PM

dar - how do you get on the Internet via T610?

Society · 02-16-04, 09:13 AM

I use BT to sync my SE T610 & my computer. After I got my phone I picked a Belkin USB dongle from compusa for $20 AR. While my phone was charging for the first time I got it synced with outlook and 60+ contacts went into my new phone in about 30 Seconds. Very sweet.

I have a X5 now and don't want to invest in a BT CF card, I am going to be getting a 41xx or 21xx soon and look forward to playing with it & my cell & computer.

I may look into a BT headset if the price comes down.

One cool thing I saw on sonyericsson.com is a remote control car that is meant to be controlled using the SE T610 via it's built in BT. Car costs $90 I believe, so I don't know of anyone that will get one for that price. But it is another example of what BT is being used for, cool huh?

~Soc

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