Flashback: a brief history of Bluetooth

16 May 2021
Bluetooth has been around for over two decades and attempted to become the end all, be all data transfer method for electonics.

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Anonymous, 17 May 2021UWB is being implemented to measure distance rather than tr... more"The name ultra-wideband comes as the pulse method takes up a lot more spectrum to work reliably. A single band frequency is typically 500 Mhz wide, so UWB can hit data rates from 4 Mbps to 675 Mbps. This data rate is faster than NFC’s 424 kbps and Bluetooth’s 2.1 Mbps speeds. But it is behind Wi-Fi 6, which has achieved a data transfer speed of 2 Gbps."
lmgtfy

    • J
    • Julian M
    • pxu
    • 17 May 2021

    Seeing that T39 and remembering how I drooled over it because my lowly Nokia 5110 was getting tired just reminds me it's been 20 years since then already.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • fJ5
      • 17 May 2021

      FarFan, 17 May 2021The only question is how soon Apple will ditch out bluetoot... moreUWB is being implemented to measure distance rather than transferring data. It doesn't seem that great at data transfer. So I doubt it will be used as a replacement for Bluetooth.

        The only question is how soon Apple will ditch out bluetooth in favor of UWB? they are known for their love to transfer music in their own way: incompatible 3.5 4pin jack, their own bluetooth codec AAC, removing 3.5 jack, and they already added UWB to all new iPhones. I think year or two, with samsung next.

          • G
          • Guru
          • U{0
          • 17 May 2021

          I first used bluetooth for mp3 sharing on my samsung keypad phone a decade ago. Wow.. Bluetooth is still around and maybe remain around in more 100 years. Hahahaha.

            • R
            • Rkm
            • ypc
            • 17 May 2021

            Anonymous, 17 May 2021Yeah, I know about those too. But those are typical studio ... moreZ1r is their flagship audiophile headphone. They are not studio headphones. They can be used for that but they are not studio headphones. Sony's studio headphones are relatively affordable. Mdr7506 cost only $200.
            Sennheiser's real audiophile stuff actually starts at around $200 and goes upwards $2000.

              • R
              • Rkm
              • ypc
              • 17 May 2021

              Anonymous, 17 May 2021Yeah, I know about those too. But those are typical studio ... moreZ1r is their flagship audiophile headphones series. It has a name for it which I can't recall.
              Their studio stuff are actually relatively affordable. Mdr-7506 cost only around $200.
              Still senn wired audiophile stuff cost a bomb compared to their wireless.

                Berserker, 17 May 2021Interesting design yes, but fun? Hell no. Converting the s... moreI really consider those days were more interesting than now. Now all you want can be done in a matter of seconds. Back then you actually felt proud for doing something with your phone

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • p%B
                  • 17 May 2021

                  Rkm, 17 May 2021No offense and agree with you on the practicality part, but... moreYeah, I know about those too. But those are typical studio headphones (something like the Sony MDR-Z1R).
                  I was talking more about the mainstream models. In this category, usually the Bluetooth headphones cost a little more.

                    • R
                    • Rkm
                    • ypc
                    • 17 May 2021

                    Anonymous, 17 May 2021I started using Bluetooth headphones since Bluetooth 4.0, b... moreNo offense and agree with you on the practicality part, but Sony and Sennheiser have wired options that cost way way more and sound so much better than their wireless ones.

                      • S
                      • SR
                      • KAf
                      • 17 May 2021

                      Even though Bluetooth is very useful for data transfer but it is too slow for smartphones.
                      So, i didn't like Bluetooth in the past and not liking them now.
                      But it is really useful feature as i am using it from 2012.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • p%B
                        • 17 May 2021

                        I started using Bluetooth headphones since Bluetooth 4.0, before Apple made them famous.
                        Many of my friends from back then, laugh and told me I know nothing about quality music. I just told them is not about quality necessarily and that this will be the future. Ohh boy, if I can see their faces now.
                        Of course, back then I had PC, laptop, TV, 2.0 System from Sony (with amplifier and CD player) and also wired headphones. I used my Bluetooth headphones only to listen to music on the go. Nowadays I just have a laptop from work and smartphone for everything else.
                        In the end, it was practicality over quality that prevail. Even though the quality have improved too in the past years. I mean, just look at Bose, Sony or Sennheiser top Bluetooth headphones nowadays. They are more expensive than wired ones, true, but they sound really nice.

                          i think people using bluetooth now is just for TWS?

                            Anonymous, 16 May 2021More than 100m, but only take few away from your phone/tabl... more"Theoretically" 100m

                              Rest of the world in 2500: Bluetooth 500.0
                              Apple in 2500 : We have invented a ground breaking method to share files with non-premium phones "i"Tooth with a range of 1ft. If u want more range it'll cost only $100/ft.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • PZa
                                • 17 May 2021

                                AnonD-834088, 16 May 2021The Days when 2 phones kissed each other on infrared,took b... moreMy old laptop had an infrared port and I used it for phone backup through Nokia software. I tried to transfer an mp3 at one time but it was very slow. I then purchased a Bluetooth dongle and I never used the infrared port again. It was still slow though so I transferred the mp3s to the phone through the sd card slot in the laptop. I had one of the early Nokias that had a card slot and could play mp3s. The SD card could only store one album. I purchased a Bluetooth receiver that had a mic and you could plug headphones into. The sound was atrocious though but it was louder than the headphone jack in my Nokia.

                                It's good to see their technologies maturing. The sd card has miniaturised into the microsd, smaller, more convenient and can store hundreds of albums. Bluetooth has matured and has enabled new Bluetooth receivers such as the Fiio Btr dac/amps that provides so much better sound. I hope they keep improving.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 0wY
                                  • 17 May 2021

                                  Believe BT is a general protocol on top of Wi-Fi saving manufacturers from having to spend on software engineers to develop such for every application.

                                    AnonD-834088, 16 May 2021The Days when 2 phones kissed each other on infrared,took b... moreHhh Indeed, we had to wate ages to sahre a poor quality photo and avoid mms fees.

                                      L.O.R.D, 17 May 2021I remember transferring data with infrared on my Sony Erics... moreInteresting design yes, but fun? Hell no.
                                      Converting the songs to the lowest possible 96 kbps quality so i can listen 5 or 6 songs,
                                      Not being able to find all those headphones and charging cables with proprietary connectors,
                                      I've snaped a photo, let me take another one, oh the storage is full. Pc app for converting a video to a 3gp 320x240 resolution.
                                      Downloading proprietary software so i can connect it to the pc, software for converting the songs.
                                      Limited contacts and sms capacity,
                                      Finding games that are barely playable.
                                      Many people talking about good old days, but when ypu think about it it was a struggle, im very glad those days are over.

                                        • K
                                        • KissKiss
                                        • 63x
                                        • 17 May 2021

                                        Anonymous, 16 May 2021More than 100m, but only take few away from your phone/tabl... moreCables to the rescue! 🙂

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