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Posts Tagged ‘ bluetooth ’

Use Bluetooth to tether iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad

By Fei on April 19, 2011

By Glenn Fleishman
April 19, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO – You should know by now that an iPhone of the right vintage can be turned into a mobile hotspot—a portable router that pumps out a Wi-Fi signal on one side and talks to a mobile 3G broadband network on the other. We’ve covered the Personal Hotspot feature for both the Verizon iPhone 4 and for the the GSM-based iPhone 4 used by AT&T in the U.S. and other carriers around the globe.

The Personal Hotspot feature also lets iPhones starting with iOS 4.2.6 (Verizon) or 4.3 (GSM model) share the cell data connection via Bluetooth and USB as well. All iPhone 4 flavors can allow up to three Bluetooth devices to connect as part of a total of five connections of any kind (among USB, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi) at any given time. (The iPhone 3G or 3GS with 4.0 or later installed can accept one connection via Bluetooth.)

What you may not know is that the iOS 4.3 update adds Bluetooth tethering to every iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad capable of running that latest release. This lets any of those devices obtain an Internet connection from an iPhone with its sharing feature enabled. (Yes, you can even connect one iPhone as a client to another acting as a server in this manner.) It should also work with any computer, router, or mobile device that offers this kind of connection sharing over Bluetooth, such as Mac OS X’s Internet Sharing feature. Many other mobile devices can also tether over Bluetooth, as well as Mac OS X and Windows systems.

Why connect with Bluetooth
Bluetooth tethering has a set of advantages that might lead you to select it instead of Wi-Fi for routing your iOS device through an iPhone 4 Personal Hotspot. It also has a few drawbacks that might dissuade you.

For iPhone 3G and 3GS users, this form of tethering also allows other iOS devices to share a connection, which was previously impossible. (If either phone has iOS 4.0 to 4.2 installed, the sharing option appears as Internet Tethering. On an iPhone 3GS with iOS 4.3 installed, it’s labeled Personal Hotspot, though Wi-Fi isn’t available as an option.)

The key advantage of Bluetooth tethering is simplicity, especially with a streamlined pairing process for securely connecting two devices over Bluetooth that Apple added to the iOS with the 4.3 update. You can also likely save battery power on both the iPhone acting as a hotspot and the device or devices you to tether to it: Bluetooth should consume less power than Wi-Fi, even though modern Wi-Fi has a lot of built-in power-conserving features.

What you’ll like best, though, is that using Bluetooth tethering sidesteps a major inconvenience with the Personal Hotspot feature. When you turn on the feature on your iPhone, Wi-Fi sharing is only enabled for 90 seconds unless a device connects via Wi-Fi within that period. After 90 seconds with no connections, your phone’s Wi-Fi radio turns off sharing to reduce battery usage. The same is true if you have Wi-Fi devices connected, and then disconnect or power down all of them: a 90-second countdown ensues.

This adds a step to using Personal Hotspot when you’re using it during a commute, for instance. Instead of just pulling out your iPad, and waiting for it to connect, you have to first extract your iPhone, and navigate to the Personal Hotspot screen. Wi-Fi availability should automatically start up just by visiting that screen, although I found in testing that I sometimes had to tap the Personal Hotspot switch from On to Off and back to On again. Then you put your iPhone away, and your iPad should connect to the iPhone’s mobile hotspot with no prompting.

Bluetooth sharing, in contrast, is always available with Personal Hotspot. In the scenario above, you’d leave your iPhone stowed and simply wake your iPad. The tablet should connect automatically. If it does not, you navigate to Settings, go to General -> Bluetooth, and tap the iPhone hotspot in the list of Bluetooth devices. The iPad then connects.

Bluetooth offers a level of security that’s equivalent to the WPA2 flavor of Wi-Fi encryption required by Apple for the Personal Hotspot feature. However, with Bluetooth, all the security is handled for you automatically. The pairing process confirms that no other party intercepted a key exchange; after that, strong encryption is used automatically with no data entry.

What’s the biggest downside to Bluetooth tethering? Throughput. Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, the flavor built into all iOS devices, has a raw rate of 3 Mbps and a net throughput that’s just a bit over 2 Mbps. That’s fine on Verizon’s 3G network, where average speeds never top 2 Mbps. On AT&T’s network—and many other GSM networks worldwide—the HSPA 7.2 standards allow realistic average speeds of 1 to 4 Mbps. Over Bluetooth, you’ll cap your highest potential, as Wi-Fi can carry more than 30 Mbps between two devices.

The set-up
Now, how would one set this up, I hear you ask? For setting up the Personal Hotspot, please consult our earlier coverage of that feature, which we linked to above. In brief, make sure you’ve signed up for the feature with your carrier. Both AT&T and Verizon Wireless charge $20 per month to use Personal Hotspot, and AT&T requires a certain level of metered service. (Carriers outside the U.S. may include the feature at no charge or require certain service levels or surcharges.) Then launch Settings on your iPhone, tap General -> Network -> Personal Hotspot, and tap the switch to On. (If you’ve already used Personal Hotspot, the menu item appears in the main level of the Settings app at the top.)

On any other iOS device with version 4.3 or later installed, follow these steps to pair and then tether the device:

- In the Settings app, tap General, then Bluetooth.
- Select your iPhone from the Devices list. It will appear by whatever name shows up when you sync in iTunes. (You can change that in iTunes by clicking the name, and then typing in a new one. This works even on computers other than the one with which you sync your media and apps.)
- On both your iPhone and the iOS device which you are pairing, a dialog appears asking you to confirm that a six-digit PIN code appears the same on both devices. If it does, tap Pair on each device. (This security step prevents a third-party from intercepting traffic or pairing without permission. if a third-party were in the middle, the codes won’t match.)

On your paired device, a special chain-link icon appears where a Wi-Fi signal strength meter typically shows up in the status bar at upper left. On both devices, the word Connected appears next to the name in the Bluetooth Devices list.

Your iOS device will remain paired with the iPhone’s mobile hotspot as long as it remains active. If you put it to sleep and wake it, it should reconnect: you’ll see the double-link icon at upper left if it does. Should your device fail to reconnect automatically, launch Settings and tap General -> Bluetooth. If it says Not Connected next to the iPhone’s name in the Devices list, tap the name. This causes the device to reconnect. If that fails, try toggling the Personal Hotspot option on your phone from off to on.

You can make your iOS device stop pairing by tapping the white-in-blue detail arrow next to the iPhone’s name in the Bluetooth screen’s Devices list. Tap Forget This Device, and it has no memory of how to connect. (You can easily repair at will using the instructions above.)

Bluetooth tethering isn’t a replacement for Wi-Fi sharing, but it provides more flexibility in your arsenal, especially if you commute and don’t want to have to fiddle with multiple devices to gain a connection.

(A big tip of the hat to Meek Geek, who alerted me via Twitter to this new feature before I’d even heard of it. Thanks!)

10 mobile technologies to watch in 2010

By Fei on March 31, 2010

By Nick Jones
March 31, 2010

LONDON – There’s no doubt mobile technologies have already made a big dent on our lives.

Whether its checking is surfing the web from your netbook while at the airport, updating your Facebook status from your smartphone, or even reading a novel on an e-book reader.

According to research firm Gartner, the impact of mobile technologies on our lives looks set to continue to surge in the next couple of years too.

Gartner says investments in mobile applications and technologies will increase through 2011 as organisations emerge from the recession and begin spending again.

With this in mind, the research firm has picked out the 10 mobile technologies to watch in the coming years.

“We are highlighting these 10 mobile technologies that should be on every organisation’s radar,” said Nick Jones, vice president of Gartner.

Jones said the technologies were selected “because they will evolve in ways that affect corporate strategies, significant numbers of customers or employees will adopt or expect them, or they will address particular mobile challenges that organisations will face through 2011″.

Bluetooth (3 and 4)

Two new Bluetooth versions will emerge by 2011: Bluetooth 3 will introduce 802.11 as a bearer for faster data transmission, and Bluetooth 4 will introduce a new low-energy (LE) mode that will still allow communication with other Bluetooth devices.

Both versions will include other technical improvements to improve battery life and security.

Gartner believes that Bluetooth 3 will be employed for activities that need a lot of bandwidth, such as downloading images and videos from handsets).

Bluetooth LE will offer functions, such as the ability to lock down a PC automatically as soon as the user moves away from the machine.

The mobile web

Gartner says that by 2011, over 85 percent of handsets shipped globally will include some form of browser.

Furthermore, in Europe and Japan, smartphones with sophisticated browsing capability and the ability to render conventional HTML sites in some manner will make up around 60 percent of handsets shipped.

The growth in smartphones with relatively large and high-resolution screens will encourage greater numbers of people to access conventional websites on mobile devices.

Mobile widgets

Widgets are web apps that use technologies such as JavaScript and HTML.

Many handsets support widgets running on their home screens, where they are easily visible and accessible.

Gartner says that despite the lack of standards, widgets provide a convenient way to deliver simple, connected applications, especially those involving real-time data updates such as weather forecasts, email notifications, marketing, blogs and information feeds.

“Because widgets exploit well-understood tools and technologies, they have lower entry barriers than complex native applications, and thus can be a good first step to assess the demand for an application on a specific platform before undertaking expensive native development,” the research firm says.

Platform-independent mobile AD tools

Gartner believes mobile platforms will become more diverse through 2012.

“Therefore, tools that can reduce the burden of delivering installable applications to several platforms will be very attractive,” the research firm says.

Gartner says the while platform-independent application development (AD) tools cannot deliver a ‘write once, run anywhere’ equivalent to native code, they can significantly reduce the cost of delivering and supporting multi-platform apps that provide will run even when there’s no signal coverage.

App Stores

According to Gartner, app stores will be the primary (and, in some cases, the only) way to distribute applications to smartphones and other mobile devices.

Gartner believes that app stores will play many roles in an organisation’s commercial strategies.

“They will be a distribution channel for mobile applications and a commercial channel to sell applications and content (especially in international markets), and they will provide new options for application sourcing. Many applications will exploit ecosystem cloud services. ”

Enhanced location awareness

By the end of 2011, over 75 percent of devices shipped will include a GPS.

GPS will be the primary, but not the only, means of establishing handset location.

However, Wi-Fi will remain important in situations where GPS is unavailable or unreliable.

Gartner said the popularity of location-aware handsets will lead to a wide range of location-aware apps that will serve as a foundation for more-sophisticated apps in the future.

“However, organisations must be sensitive to local privacy regulations, ensuring that apps are ‘opt in’, and remain on alert for new risks and concerns that will be raised by location awareness.”

Mobile broadband

During 2010 and 2011, the availability of mobile broadband will continue to grow as mobile networks enhance their offerings.

Gartner says improvements in wireless broadband performance will mean an in the nukber of devices and activities that no longer require fixed networking, making mobile broadband a more effective fallback when fixed connections fail.

The firm also believes embedded mobile broadband technology will become a standard feature in many laptops, as well as e-books and media players.

Touchscreens

Touchscreens are emerging as a dominant technology. They will appear in over 60 percent of mobile devices shipped in Western Europe and North America in 2011.

“Touch-enabled devices will also make increasing use of techniques such as haptics to enhance user experience,” Gartner says.

According to the research firm, organisations developing native handset apps may need to exploit single and multitouch interfaces and haptics to give their apps a compelling and competitive user experience.

M2M

Many network service providers increased their commitment to machine to machine technology (M2M) or remote monitoring of devices in 2009, which according to Gartner means a range of M2M service options will be available in the coming years.

Gartner says key applications that will use M2M technology include meter reading, security/surveillance and track and trace functions.

Device-independent security

This isn’t strictly a single technology, but refers to a collection of security technologies that enable the use of apps, which are not tied to specific devices and platforms, and, in many cases, do not require security tools to be installed on the client.

Gartner says this includes thin-client architectures, applications as a service, platform-independent forms of network access control (NAC), portable personality, virtualisation, and hosted security services, such as ‘in the cloud’ virus scanning.

“Device-independent tools cannot provide the rigour of fully installed security, but a blend of several of these tools can enable CIOs to deliver applications that can run on a wider range of devices while reducing security risks.,” Gartner says.

Fujitsu FLEPia E-Reader Makes A U.S. Appearance

By Fei on January 12, 2010

By Melissa Perenson
January 12, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – Let’s get the bad news about the Fujitsu FLEPia out of the way: Right now, it’s only available in Japan. The good news is that Fujitsu is looking into bringing it to the U.S. Hopefully, the company will do so soon, as this flexible e-paper reader looks very promising.
The FLEPia unit on display here was customized for showing off in the U.S., but its interface was clean and colorful (underneath was Windows CE). It has a 1.2 second refresh rate, and the lightning fast scrolling compared with the Kindle and Nook.

This slim (12.5mm thick), 350-gram model was especially attractive given its color display–a 8-inch passive matrix touch screen which supports 64, 260K, and 4096K colors. There’s no backlight, yet images could look bright and brilliant since the display is designed to reflect back red, green, and blue ambient light. Also, it only uses power while redrawing the screen, so Fujitsu claims that the FLEPia can last for 40 hours per charge.

The FLEPia’s connectivity options are also fairly impressive; a USB 2.0 port, SD card slot, and Internet access via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. In Japan, the FLEPia works with different mobile carriers, so we’ll probably see a similar arrangement for a US release. Does all of that sound good? Be prepared to set aside around $1000, which is roughly what it cost during the April 2009 launch in Japan.

Parrot announces helicopter controlled by iPhone

By Fei on January 7, 2010

By Matt Egan
January 7, 2009

LONDON – Bluetooth specialist manufacturer Parrot has been wowing visitors to the Consumer Electronics Show here in Las Vegas with its AR.Drone: toy helicopter and real-life video game that’s controlled with an Apple iPhone.

The AR.Drone is in fact a ‘quadricopter’, with four 15-watt rotors that spin as fast as 1,500rpm, allowing the device to travel at up to 11 miles per hour. It is controlled by Wi-Fi signals, and includes four wireless cameras. Using these gamers stream video to an Apple iPhone or iPod touch – these will require a simple software update, and Parrot plans to add more phone platforms soon.

Using the images streamed, the device and software creates an “augmented reality” video game, which allows gamers to selet mundane objects in their environment and use them for point-scoring target practice. (Tired of your spouse? Here’s the perfect, safe way of working off some frustration!

The AR.Drone device is made of carbon fibre and PA66 plastic. According to Parrot it is robust enough to be used outdoors, and it comes with a shield to allow it to be used indors without damaging the rotors (or the aforementioned spouse).

The AR.Drone runs Linux, and Parrot is making the platform available to developers here at CES. According to Parrot, the AR.Drone has a three-cell, 1,000 mAh lithium polymer battery, and a 15-frame-per-second (fps) front camera as well as a high-speed (60fps) camera that looks straight down. It will be available ‘later this year’, and pricing is not yet known.