Xircom Bluetooth Springboard Later This Year

Posted By: Ed Thursday, March 22, 2001 8:51:36 AM

Xircom announced at CeBit today that it will be releasing a Bluetooth Springboard module in the third quarter of this year. It will feature password protected user authentication, frequency hopping technology, and 128-bit data encryption to ensure a secure transfer of information between devices. No pricing is currently available.

It will be part of of the company's line of Bluetooth products, including a PC card and USB versions.

About Bluetooth
Bluetooth wireless technology is a specification for a small-form factor, low-cost radio solution providing cable-free synchronization between mobile computers, mobile phones and other portable handheld devices, as well as data communication and connectivity to the Internet. Xircom is a member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), an organization comprised of leaders in the telecommunications, computing and network industries that is driving development of the technology and bringing it to market.

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Bluetooth?

jayhawk88 @ 3/22/2001 10:28:38 AM #
Shoot, I'd be happy if they'd just hurry up and release their 802.11b wireless LAN Springboard. We've got a group of Med students coming in here where I work that we're going to be giving Palm devices too, and thought it'd be really cool to give them wireless network access via Visors and these Xircom wireless LAN Springboards.

I'm not up on my Bluetooth technology. What about Bluetooth makes it more attractive than 802.11b?

RE: Bluetooth?
PFloyd @ 3/22/2001 10:53:31 AM #
I'm not an authority but I understand Bluetooth is a Personal Area Network that can link your PDA, mobile phone, car radio, air pressure sensors in your wheels, MP3 player, tiny wireless headset, and on and on all together. The 802.11 may be more general and therefore more applicable for your students.

RE: Bluetooth?
Ed @ 3/22/2001 12:33:23 PM #
The major differences between Bluetooth and 802.11 are speed, range, and cost.

Bluetooth is designed to be a low-cost, short-range wireless network solution. Currently, its top transfer speed is 1 Mbps and the maximum range is 30 feet. The Bluetooth SIG is hoping to get hardware costs for it down to the $10 range.

802.11 is designed for high-end users. It can transfer data at up to 11 Mbps with a range of 150 feet. But it is going to cost significantly more than what Bluetooth will.

p.s. I love the story on how Bluetooth got its name. In 1994, there was conference up in Scandinavia to decide on a new wireless standard. At the end, they announced that this new standard would be named after King Harald Bluetooth, who "united" Denmark and Norway. No one who was at the conference can explain exactly how that decision was made. Something tells me large amounts of alcohol were involved, though.

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