There's a word to describe a lot of Bluetooth technology, and that word is "Whee!" Sadly this is a business section so of course we're jolly serious about what we do, all the time and without exception, so we're not going to talk about boy's toys. Oh no.
Well, not much anyway. Because although Bluetooth does throw out some genuine business benefits and applications, there's no doubting that part of the reason for getting any of the kit is to appreciate its "look what I've got" appeal.
For newcomers, Bluetooth is basically a networking standard that links mobile computing products together without the need for wires. Mobile computers, mobile phones, a handful of printers and PDAs: all can be bluetoothed together over a short range and will communicate without any trouble. Setting up is a matter of following the instructions on the screen when you put the disk into the computer, or setting PDAs and phones to "discover" each other, which they will then do and set up partnerships.
No, this isn't the same sort of network you get when you just go for a cordless office; it's more sophisticated than that since you can download and upload files between systems as well as synchronise PDAs with desktop systems and other useful stuff. It's not, on the other hand, a full-blown wireless network (although don't let any of its fans hear you say so); it's a small-scale personal system rather than anything too corporate. Which is probably why so many of the gadgets seem fun as well as businesslike.
Take the Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 995c. It's a colour inkjet printer but the clever bit is that it's Bluetooth sensitive, so if you have a laptop or group of laptops in the office you don't need to faff around cabling them all together if they need to share a printer rather than data. This sounds a bit gadgety at first, inevitably, until you start thinking it through a little more carefully.
Supposing you employ a mobile sales force who have to come in and print off the odd sales order from time to time (though ask yourself why they're not just emailing them in the first place); they can now do so without mucking about with wiring. Business owners with multiple sites will likewise be able to come in with a laptop, print off whatever they need to and put the laptop back in its box without any fuss.
If you don't want to buy a new printer for the sake of Bluetooth then 3Com will happily sell you its new Bluetooth Printing Kit for £136.95 plus VAT, which includes adaptors for your printer and computer as long as they have USB slots.
Laptops, too, don't need to come Bluetooth-ready, although an increasing number of them are. Samsung has certainly come out with Bluetooth laptops in the last few weeks following the lead set by Fujitsu-Siemens with its Lifebook B-2547. These aren't strictly necessary, though, as all you need is a spare PCMCIA slot (the one that looks approximately credit card sized) and then TDK, 3Com and others will cheerfully sell you a Bluetooth adapter for under £100; for a similar price you can get an adapter for most PDAs although the latest Handsprings, Palms and Pocket PCs costing £500 plus have it built in.
The next logical step is to connect your mobile phone to your PDA or laptop. Many have infra-red connections and people who are used to lining up ports on their phones and computers will no doubt welcome the chance to get away from this; picking up emails while walking or on a train becomes a lot easier, for example. The cost can be high though: expect to pay hundreds for a Bluetooth phone even if it's an upgrade to an existing account.
Future developments are likely to include more direct connections between devices and computers. For example, at the moment there is technically no reason not to have a camera linked to a computer via Bluetooth connection, but there exist only a handful of Bluetooth cameras for the moment. Zebra Technologies has released a small Bluetooth printer for environments such as retail: you wander around the shop and print out labels on demand, remaining connected to the office data the whole time.
Brainboxes (see brainboxes.com) has a Bluetooth vending machine. Logitech has released the "cordless presenter", a cross between a mouse and a pointer for presentations. Bigger networks are becoming possible; Red-M has kitted out a cruise liner with what it believes is the biggest Bluetooth network in the world, for example. So anyone with a Bluetooth device can connect to the network.
More firmly on the gadget side is the Bluetooth Wireless Headset from Motorola (£149 from Motorola.co.uk or the Carphone Warehouse), and a similar product about to come out from Jabra. You stick it on your ear and use it with your Bluetooth phone (which of course you'll have bought by now). Set-up proved simple when tested with an Ericsson T39m phone and OK, you look a pillock if you use it walking down the street (which, with that ticket price, probably isn't the best idea anyway), but at least you get to speak to someone without holding a handset.
If you're working in an environment in which you're carrying stuff, taking copious notes or whatever, this could be useful - to justify the price as a business purchase it would have to be. Mind you, its "Whee!" factor is pretty high.
Key facts about Bluetooth:
· Intended as a short-range network only, with approximately 30ft reach.
· Adapters, whether built-in or added, allow selected devices to talk to each other.
· International Data Corporation expects wide take-up next year with telephone handsets accounting for most of the growth. Expect prices to come down.
· Further information and constant updates available from Bluetooth.com.
· Business-specific news and guidelines on returns on investment available at tdksystems.com. Check the "education" section and look for B-Informed.
