5 surprising facts about Bluetooth

May 11, 2011

(11 votes, average: 4.64 out of 5)

Bluetooth has been around since 1994, a lifetime in technology terms. Nonetheless, it’s surprising how little people actually know about it. To put that right, we’ve unearthed five things you probably don’t know about this amazing technology.

Photo by letsputphotographsontheinternet

It’s named after a Danish King

In case you ever wondered where the colorful name came from, you can thank Harold Blåtand, a 10th Century Danish King whose passion for blueberries was so intense, his teeth were permanently shaded blue. The word Bluetooth is an anglicized version of Blåtand. The King is famous for uniting the Nordic tribes into a single Kingdom, in much the same way Bluetooth has unified communications protocols, into one universal standard.

Its range is greater than you think

Although Bluetooth is called a short-range wireless networking standard, Bluetooth devices can actually communicate further than you think. In most cases, they can work to a distance of about 10 meters, however new versions can reach up to 100 meters.

There are five versions

The first version was called 1.1. It was followed by 1.2, 2.0 plus EDR, 3.0 plus HB and version 4.

While this might seem a little confusing the good news is that from a compatibility standpoint, using Bluetooth devices with different versions is generally not a problem.

The newer versions of Bluetooth offer increased security, speed and range, while using less power. They are also backwards compatible with older versions.

It can be used with multiple devices at once

The latest Bluetooth devices act as a “master” and can communicate with up to seven slaves devices at once. This group of 8 devices (1 master + 7 slaves) is called a Piconet. At any given time, data can be transferred between the master and 1 slave; but the master switches rapidly from slave to slave in a round-robin fashion to see for any further file transfer request.

It’s more popular than ever

95% of mobile phones sold today are Bluetooth enabled, which is massive increase from 2008, when a mere 5% had the technology. Statistics also show that over 70% of consumers leave their Bluetooth switched on throughout the day, meaning more people than ever are making use of Bluetooth’s magic.

Know of any other surprising facts about Bluetooth? If so, we’d love to hear about them.

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Showing all 16 comments

Freddie S May 28 , 2011 @ 21:42

Interesting read. Reason behind bluetooth name made me laugh

Loud and Gear June 10 , 2011 @ 12:30

Glad you enjoyed Freddie. Imagining a purple-toothed King made us smile, too!

felix paul June 08 , 2011 @ 08:38

Your latest Nokia BH-609 was bought by me couple of months back and I find that people who are at the other end find that the voice is breaking and never stable whatever the other set is . i am using a Blackberry pearl 8100. and also V7500 android .

I also am just not happy that you have given two land line nos in your bill and the visiting card. None of them working for the past two days. The elite shop is on the TTK road . COMMUNICATION AND CONNECTING PEOPLE AS YOU CLAIM IN YOUR LOG IS NOT AT ALL CORRECT.THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN ALTERNATE NO WITH SOME OTHER SERVICE PRODER AND AT LEAST ONE WILL WORK AND ADDED TO IT THE POWER IS NOT THER FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS, AND ” NOT CONNECTING PEOLE”. IS IT NOT VERY LIGHT HEARTED TO FEEL THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO WAY TO COMUNICATE TO YOUR OFFICE . YOUR PEOPLE REVL IN SAYING IT IS “NO FAULT OF THEIRS ” IT IS TRUE THAT THEY ARE JUST PAID WORKMEN AND THOSE WHO HAVE TAKEN CAREOF THE SHOP SHOULD OF THOUGHT OF THE PROBLEMS HOW TO CONNECT TO PEOPLE. I HAVE SENT AN EMAIL ALSO AND NO REPLY TO IT.

CAN YOU BECOME WISE ATLEAST NOW AND ‘CONNECT TO PEOPLE” FROM NOW ON. CONSULT SOME GOOD CONSULTANTS AND HAVING A POSH SHOW ROOM IS NOT ENOUGH ESPECIALLY WHEN A MNC PRODUCT IS SOLD WHICH IS MAINLY A COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT.

IT IS LIKE HAVING AN HOSPITAL WITHOUT BASIC MEDICINES AND DOCTORS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

“CUSTOMER IS THE KING” IS THE MOTO OF THE GOOD COMPANY. i HAVE WORKED FOR MRF – IT AND WE NEVER LEFT ANY OF THE 70 SALES OFFICES AND 6 FACTORIES WITHOUT ALTERNATE COMMUNICATION.
HOPE YOU DO IT SOON.

PL TAKE IT AS A GOOD ADVICE AND NOT A CRITICS VIEW. MY ALTERNAT METHOD TO CONNECT TO CONNECT YOUR PEOP-LE WAS TO CALL ONE OF GOOD FRIENDS WHO IS WORKING IN THE SAME BUILDING AND ASKED HIM TO CARRY HIS MOBILE TO YOUR OFFICE WITHOUT WHICH I WILL NOT KNOW THE TIMING OF YOUR OFFICE (WHICH YOU COULD HAVE INCORPORATED IN YOUR BILL) A DECENT PAPER BAG IS WELL APPRECIATED AS A GOOD GIMIC FOR MARKETTING.

WARM REGARDS

FELIX PAUL

98400 51688

CENNAI

Loud and Gear June 10 , 2011 @ 12:32

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and advice, Felix. We’ve passed on your message to Nokia India.

Sol Bozenski June 14 , 2011 @ 17:24

Excellent posting!

The Bluetooth Standard is Named After a 10th Century Scandinavian King « l Ψ l Bajan Sun Entertainment June 15 , 2011 @ 12:47

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TIL that Bluetooth is named after a 10th century Danish king who loved blueberries so much his teeth were stained blue. at SatelliteHeadlines.com June 16 , 2011 @ 18:51

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Wayne F June 16 , 2011 @ 19:33

Wow! Who would have thought a 10th century viking king would provide the name for a 21st century technology

Russ June 21 , 2011 @ 20:17

About time bluetooth came of age. Seems like forever we have been waiting for it to be good as promised

Narin r July 15 , 2011 @ 13:00

Fascinating post. Never knew the half of this. Cool name for a cool tech!!

Stu W August 07 , 2011 @ 14:10

The name is about the only exciting thing about Bluetooth. I remmeber when people said it would change the world. Still waiting

Dash Office Products » Blog Archive » 5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Bluetooth August 08 , 2011 @ 16:00

[...] Nokia shares a few interesting facts about Bluetooth, the pervasive wireless technology that makes you think strangers are talking to you when they’re actually talking to those things in their ears. [...]

Craig September 10 , 2011 @ 02:28

Interesting statistics on Bluetooth.

“95% of mobile phones sold today are Bluetooth enabled…” “Statistics also show that over 70% of consumers leave their Bluetooth switched on throughout the day…”

Can anyone provide the source for these numbers? Was this 1st party research or 3rd party? Thanks,

The Bluetooth Standard is Named After a 10th Century Scandinavian King November 01 , 2011 @ 11:21

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giant twist comfort cs November 18 , 2011 @ 13:03

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