Hotspot | Wireless | Networking

Bluetooth is the other type of wireless networking technology that we ought to describe. Bluetooth uses radio signals to replace the wires and cables that connect a computer or a mobile telephone to peripheral devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a set of speakers. You can also use Bluetooth to transfer data between a computer and a mobile telephone, smartphone, BlackBerry, or other PDA (personal digital assistant).

Bluetooth is an FHSS system that splits the radio signal into tiny pieces. It moves among 79 different frequencies 1,600 times per second in the same unlicensed 2.4 GHz range as 802.11b and 802.11g Wi-Fi services.

Bluetooth is not practical for connecting a computer to the Internet
because it’s slow (the maximum data transfer rate is only about 700Kbps), and it has a very limited signal range (most often about 33 feet, or 10 meters, or less).

In order to prevent interference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals,
many computers that use both technologies (including the widely used Intel
Centrino chip set) coordinate the two services. When either module is active,
it notifies the other, and the active service takes priority. This coordinated
operation is slightly slower than either service operating alone, but the
difference is insignificant.