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visorcentral.com >> Stories >> Hardware
Smile! Bluetooth is Coming


Tue Apr 25, 2000 - 1:45 AM EDT - By James Hromadka

Bluetooth is Coming

Informationis starting to come out now about the Bluetooth springboard from Widcomm called the Blue-Connect. The Blue-Connect module enables wireless connectivity with other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Like other springboards, the Blue-Connect is completely Plug-N-Play. Widcomm will also have a Blue-Share™ product that allows the Visor to connect to
the desktop over Bluetooth.

Below is a list of the Blue-Connectmodule specifications from Widcomm’s
website:

Add-on module enabling wirelessconnectivity with other Bluetooth-enabled devices

Conforms to the Springboardinterface present on the Visor PDA

Plug and Play with no priorconfiguration required on the Visor device

Bluetooth 1.0 specificationcompliant software and firmware

The Blue-Connect module comes loaded with all the software drivers required to use a Visor device runningthe Palm OS

Optional software applications (e.g. e-mail, web access) can be included in the Enabler module Flash ROM

Bluetooth profiles implemented: Dial-up Networking, Serial Port Profile, Synchronization Profile

Power drawn from Visor battery pack - Current : Peak : 60 mA; typical : 40 mA

Below are some of the ways that the Blue-Conect module can be used:

"Beaming" an application over from Visor to Visor

"Beaming" an address-book entry from Visor to Visor

Visor to desktop/notebook using the Blue-Connect and the Blue-Share (address book, schedule, to do list) synchronization

Visor to cell phones (address book, schedule synchronization)

Using the Visor as a user interface while using a cell phone as an untethered modem

Visor to Digital Camera (image transfer)

According to a press release that Widcomm has with Acer, the Blue-Connect will cost less than $100 and will be available in Q2 2000. The possibilities of Bluetooth will be endless. Widcomm will also release an API so companies can write Bluetooth-aware applications.