Wireless communication slowly is becoming reality. In a wireless world, a printer is installed automatically after it is turned on; keyboard and mouse cables no longer become hopelessly tangled; Palm Pilots and mobile telephones automatically synchronize and communicate. Providing this sort of seamless, wireless communication — at a low cost — is the goal of Bluetooth technology.

Devices that support Bluetooth automatically communicate with one another when they come within a 30-foot range of each other. If devices are compatible and properly authenticated, they start communicating, up to a maximum bandwidth of 1 Mbps. Although Bluetooth has a relatively short range and limited bandwidth, it requires very little power and is theoretically inexpensive. This makes it the ideal technology for portable devices that run on batteries, as well as devices that don't require massive bandwidth.

Bluetooth Demystified is a solid overview of Bluetooth technology for data-communication professionals who want to learn more about this new wireless specification. In many ways, it mirrors the official and more technical Bluetooth 1.0 specification (available online). For those who are familiar with the official specification, many of the diagrams will be familiar, and much of the basic information is the same. This book does not provide explicit information for programmers who are looking to implement Bluetooth support; but, if you want an accessible introduction to Bluetooth technology, this does the job.

Structured to provide an increasingly technical overview of Bluetooth, the book begins with a general overview of wireless technology and provides the motivation for Bluetooth. This creates a solid foundation for the following chapters, which give technical descriptions of the various Bluetooth communication protocols. Chapters on security and proposed usage models flesh out this new wireless communication specification.

New technology platforms always require a critical mass before they become a broadly accepted standard, and Bluetooth is no exception. Success for this technology is not guaranteed, even though an impressive list of companies have promised to implement Bluetooth in their products. Whether Bluetooth is the next Microsoft Bob or the next Palm Pilot remains to be seen.