Bluetooth® technology is a cutting-edge open specification that enables short-range wireless connections between desktop and notebook computers, handhelds, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, camera phones, printers, digital cameras, headsets, keyboards and even a computer mouse. Bluetooth wireless technology uses a globally available frequency band (2.4GHz) for worldwide compatibility. In a nutshell, Bluetooth technology unplugs your digital peripherals and makes cable clutter a thing of the past. With Bluetooth technology integrated in Mac OS X, you can easily connect your Apple computer with your Palm OS-based handheld device, mobile phone and other peripherals with Bluetooth technology — and do it wirelessly, within a 30-foot range.

Bluetooth 2.0+EDR

The new Apple PowerBook G4 portables are the first computers to offer Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. (Earlier aluminum and titanium PowerBook G4 models feature Bluetooth 1.x support.) Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, while still backwards-compatible with Bluetooth 1.x, is up to three times faster than its predecessors, offering a maximum data rate of 3Mbps. As the first company to certify a system supporting Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (enhanced data rate) specification with the Bluetooth Qualification Board, Apple continues to popularize Bluetooth technology. ⁽¹⁾

Full support from Apple

In addition to the new PowerBook G4 portable line, Bluetooth-enabled computers are available across Apple’s entire CPU product line — including iBook, iMac G5, eMac, Mac mini and Power Mac G5 — as a standard or optional feature. Or enable your previous-generation iBook, iMac or Power Mac by plugging in a D-Link Bluetooth USB Adapter. (For Power Mac G4 and iMac, attach the adapter to the free USB port on your keyboard.) Mac OS X takes care of the rest.

Unwire your life

With the Bluetooth feature turned on, your Mac can perform a file transfer or synchronization. From the Bluetooth menu, you can choose to send a file or browse a device, simply and quickly. Or click the Sync button in iSync to update your mobile phone or Palm OS handheld. For extra security, you can stipulate that only trusted devices talk to your Mac, and 128-bit over-the-air encryption is also available.

Your Mac and your GSM/GPRS mobile phone with Bluetooth technology make each other more useful. Using iSync, you can keep your phone updated with your contacts’ numbers without having to type in their info on a tiny keypad. Keep the information in the more manageable Address Book on your Mac instead. Address Book also lets you send SMS messages over your mobile phone, and will display SMS messages from your phone on your Mac. You can also use your Mac to respond to voice calls.

Use your Bluetooth-enabled Mac to print document and digital images to a select printer that supports Bluetooth technology.⁽²⁾ Or use a Bluetooth headset to talk to your friends and colleagues during an iChat AV session.⁽³⁾

Your Mac can also use Bluetooth technology to communicate with your Palm OS handheld, like the Tungsten T3. You can perform a HotSync operation without cables. Or send your business card or calendar events directly to a colleague’s handheld — using Bluetooth technology. The standard vCal and vCard formats let this work on both Palm and PocketPC handhelds with Bluetooth technology.

And for a whizzy trick that’s sure to impress, send an instant iCard with your own image taken by your mobile phone. Use a camera phone such as the Nokia 6600 or the Sony Ericsson P800 to take pictures, download them to your Mac over a Bluetooth connection, create an iCard, then send it using your phone’s GPRS connection.

The Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse use Bluetooth technology to free you and your Mac from the physical restraints of tethering cables and crowded peripheral ports.

Apple’s Bluetooth implementation is the latest in a series of bold strategic moves that have caused tectonic shifts in the computer industry — and greatly benefited customers. Apple established USB as the standard peripheral interface with the launch of the first iMac in 1998. Then Apple established the 802.11 wireless networking standard with the launch of the iBook and AirPort in 1999. In 2003 Apple launched AirPort Extreme, based on the new 802.11g high-speed wireless technology. Now Bluetooth further strengthens the dominant position of the Mac in wireless communications, preserving Apple’s reputation for being first to market with innovative technology integrated right into the operating system.

Mac OS X lets you wirelessly transfer files between computers — even Mac to PC — using the Bluetooth File Exchange utility. It’s even possible to browse selected devices and retrieve files remotely. Apple recommends the use of AirPort and AirPort Extreme for wireless networking, however, for anything but the smallest files.

Where to learn more about Bluetooth

There are now over 1,800 adopter members of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) who’ve pledged their support to this standard. Apple is one of them.

• Official Bluetooth site
• Bluetooth SIG
• CSR