Bluetooth Basics for Small Businesses

It seems that every new electronic device on the market claims to be "Bluetooth enabled." But what, exactly, is Bluetooth? How can it make my business more efficient? And why is it called Bluetooth?

What it is

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that uses short-range radio to connect devices. It has a relatively limited range — about 10 meters — which limits its use to "cable replacement" and similar applications. It's perfect for connecting keyboards to computers, for transferring digital photos from Bluetooth-equipped cameras, and syncing PDAs and other devices to your workstation. You can even wirelessly network printers and other peripheral devices.

But because of the 10-meter range, it's not a great option for running an entire computer network. For now, WiFi is still your best bet for unwired networking. However, Bluetooth is great at what it does; it's reasonably fast, and uses next to no battery power. These factors add up to a wireless standard tailor-made for many of today's consumer electronic devices.