hawkdon
Well-known Member
- Location
- Liberty MO
I don't know what it is used for....could someone explain in laymens terms ???
It has been around a long time, Bluetooth, but
- Thread starter hawkdon
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Roadwarrior
Member
Bluetooth is a short-range (10 meters = <40 ft) wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks.
Bluetooth is named after the 10th century king of Denmark and Norway, Harald Bluetooth. The king famously united Danish tribes into one kingdom, much like the Bluetooth technology unites communication protocols.
Thanks @RadishRose.
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dilettante
Well-known Member
- Location
- Michigan
It goes beyond that now, with extensions like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) which uses short bursts to communicate things like commands and telemetry between devices.
That can be as simple as a small key fob device with a button on it. One press sends the fob's ID and a command to a controller. Double-press another, long-press a third. At the controller the consumer would have set up actions for each command. Maybe click to turn on outside home lighting, double-click to turn those lights off. Sort of like garage door remote control but with more devices involved.
BLE is often used for things like finding a new "smart device" from a controller (e.g. Amazon's Echo devices) and configuring the device into the primary network (often WiFi) and recognizing the type of device (smart light bulb, temperature and humidity sensor, video camera, etc.).
Most of that goes on behind the scenes to make setup very close to a "one button operation" for consumers.
The most common use still remains audio links between devices.
For example a phone or PC sending an audio stream to a Bluetooth speaker, with an optional back-channel used by such a speaker to send back pause, start, stop commands to the player device.
Another is a phone or PC sending phone call received audio to different kinds of earpieces as well as sending microphone input back the other way when you talk. But not just earpieces, but also things like your car audio system and even some "Bluetooth speakers" have a microphone and can handle phone calls as well. There can also be control signals going back to do things like "accept incoming call" or "end the call" from buttons on the earbuds or your car steering wheel.
That can be as simple as a small key fob device with a button on it. One press sends the fob's ID and a command to a controller. Double-press another, long-press a third. At the controller the consumer would have set up actions for each command. Maybe click to turn on outside home lighting, double-click to turn those lights off. Sort of like garage door remote control but with more devices involved.
BLE is often used for things like finding a new "smart device" from a controller (e.g. Amazon's Echo devices) and configuring the device into the primary network (often WiFi) and recognizing the type of device (smart light bulb, temperature and humidity sensor, video camera, etc.).
Most of that goes on behind the scenes to make setup very close to a "one button operation" for consumers.
The most common use still remains audio links between devices.
For example a phone or PC sending an audio stream to a Bluetooth speaker, with an optional back-channel used by such a speaker to send back pause, start, stop commands to the player device.
Another is a phone or PC sending phone call received audio to different kinds of earpieces as well as sending microphone input back the other way when you talk. But not just earpieces, but also things like your car audio system and even some "Bluetooth speakers" have a microphone and can handle phone calls as well. There can also be control signals going back to do things like "accept incoming call" or "end the call" from buttons on the earbuds or your car steering wheel.
hawkdon
Well-known Member
- Location
- Liberty MO
I have the Jitterbug flip phone for seniors mainly...and it has
a bluetooth button on it, and I don't know what I could use
it for....could that be where I can talk to text?>>
thanks
a bluetooth button on it, and I don't know what I could use
it for....could that be where I can talk to text?>>
thanks
dilettante
Well-known Member
- Location
- Michigan
My guess is that it is intended to turn Bluetooth on and off, and maybe to initiate Bluetooth "pairing" where the phone gets set up to communicate to a specific set of earbuds. The pairing process is meant to define which of several possible devices in the vicinity are to be connected for a given purpose.
See: https://www.lively.com/static/6d35bab1e9107016ab480cf7b73f5544/jitterbug-flip-user-guide.pdf
Naturally
Well-known Member
- Location
- Corner of Walk 'n Don't Walk
In addition to pairing earbuds to your flip phone as @dilettante mentioned, I use Bluetooth to pair my phone to my automobile and am able to use the phone hands free while driving. There are buttons on my steering wheel that control the phone during calls. Honestly, I don't even use my cell phone OR my home phone much at all for that matter, but the feature is there nonetheless.
Some folks use bluetooth to wirelessly pair bluetooth enabled speakers to phones, pads, computers and TV's.
hawkdon
Well-known Member
- Location
- Liberty MO
welp, guess it is worthless to me then....don't have a car now,
don't use earbuds, or i pads....and not going to get a pair of ear buds.
don't use earbuds, or i pads....and not going to get a pair of ear buds.
I know next to nothing about anything electronic
but
I do know I had to buy a Blue Tooth player in order to play a Blue Tooth DVD movie
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Roadwarrior
Member
You mean Blue Ray? My hearing aids have Bluetooth, when I take them out at night without shutting them down they put up an obnoxious squeal that my wife claims disturbs her sleep. Of course I can't hear them at that point anyway. Don't bother me!
I normally disable it through 'startup applications', never know who's listening. My biggest worry is that I have one aid in each ear trying to connect wirelessly through my head. What's happening to my brain is it like the 'Your brain on drugs' with the egg in the frying pan ad you seen every so often?
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dilettante
Well-known Member
- Location
- Michigan
My home phone has a "base" unit and two handsets and a second charging base. So it can have two (or more) locations in the house, like plugging in phones in different rooms, just wireless.
If the cell phone is within Bluetooth range of the "base" the home phone handsets amswer/call on both the landline and the cell phone. The wireless handsets have a Home and Cell button.
If the cell phone is within Bluetooth range of the "base" the home phone handsets amswer/call on both the landline and the cell phone. The wireless handsets have a Home and Cell button.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
I'm the same I know Blue tooth exists, but how I would connect something to Blue-tooth I just don't have a clue. My estranged husband is a techi wizard, and he set up all the electronics in the house in the car.. the mobile phones everything...so when I hear that might have to connect something to blue tooth now he's gone..I'm like... 
..my daughter is even more technically savvy.. but she has no patience so when I ask her to show me how to do something, if I don't get it in the first telling.. she's not interested in showing me again...
..my daughter is even more technically savvy.. but she has no patience so when I ask her to show me how to do something, if I don't get it in the first telling.. she's not interested in showing me again...
dilettante
Well-known Member
- Location
- Michigan
It's pretty easy, but there is always a process and it varies with different devices.
I have a wall-mounted Echo Dot in the master bathroom. If I am listening to a podcast or a long YouTube video I can turn on the PC Bluetooth and it will connect to the Dot and pause the playback. That's because I paired it previously.
Then I can go into the bathroom, shower and shave, etc. while listening. I just go there and say "Alexa, volume 8" to turn it up, then "Alexa resume" to resume the audio. Once I'm done I just "Alexa, pause" and 'Alexa, volume 5" to turn it down. Then I can say "Alexa, disconnect" or just go to the PC and disable Bluetooth, and then resume the playback on the PC.
Someday maybe all of this will be standardized and then anybody will be doing these things. Right now we have to figure them out and remember all of the steps we use for the different cases that we make use of. One thing perpetually holding us back is Apple. They love to force proprietary stuff onto the market and then pressure or bribe the rest of the industry to be compatible with the narrow subset of features they allow to 3rd party developers. This keeps the technologies churning unnecessarily, which in turn handicaps things from maturing and becoming easier to use.
I have a wall-mounted Echo Dot in the master bathroom. If I am listening to a podcast or a long YouTube video I can turn on the PC Bluetooth and it will connect to the Dot and pause the playback. That's because I paired it previously.
Then I can go into the bathroom, shower and shave, etc. while listening. I just go there and say "Alexa, volume 8" to turn it up, then "Alexa resume" to resume the audio. Once I'm done I just "Alexa, pause" and 'Alexa, volume 5" to turn it down. Then I can say "Alexa, disconnect" or just go to the PC and disable Bluetooth, and then resume the playback on the PC.
Someday maybe all of this will be standardized and then anybody will be doing these things. Right now we have to figure them out and remember all of the steps we use for the different cases that we make use of. One thing perpetually holding us back is Apple. They love to force proprietary stuff onto the market and then pressure or bribe the rest of the industry to be compatible with the narrow subset of features they allow to 3rd party developers. This keeps the technologies churning unnecessarily, which in turn handicaps things from maturing and becoming easier to use.