Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard used to exchange data between fixed and mobile devices and to build personal area networks, typically limited to about 10 meters of range and operating over UHF radio waves between 2.402 and 2.48 gigahertz; it commonly replaces wired connections between nearby devices such as phones, wireless headphones and speakers, and car audio systems. Ericsson Mobile began developing the technology in Lund, Sweden in 1989 under the direction of its chief technology officer Nils Rydbeck, and from 1997 Orjan Johansson led the project through further development and standardization. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group launched the technology as a formal industry standard in May 1998, and Ericsson's R520m became the first commercially available Bluetooth phone in early 2001, after an unreleased Ericsson T36 prototype had been the first Bluetooth phone built.
Facts
Patent or First-Use Date SignificanceAs of 2021, 4.7 billion Bluetooth integrated circuit chips are shipped annually, making it one of the most widely deployed short-range wireless standards in consumer electronics. 1 Sources
1. Bluetooth (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationSpecifications and features section
The specifications were formalized by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and formally announced on 20 May 1998.
Lead section, second paragraph
As of 2021, 4.7 billion Bluetooth integrated circuit chips are shipped annually.
- In Group: Short-Range Wireless Communication Technologies, Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs).
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Bluetooth called Bluetooth?
Jim Kardach of Intel proposed it in 1997 after King Harald Bluetooth, who united the Danish tribes, as a codename that stuck.
The name was proposed in 1997 by Jim Kardach of Intel, one of the founders of the Bluetooth SIG. It was inspired by a conversation with Sven Mattisson, who related Scandinavian history through tales from Frans G. Bengtsson's novel The Long Ships about the 10th-century Danish king Harald Bluetooth. Bluetooth is the Anglicised version of the Scandinavian Blåtand or Blåtann, the epithet of King Harald, who united the disparate Danish tribes into a single kingdom; Kardach chose the name to imply that Bluetooth similarly unites communication protocols. It was only meant as a placeholder until marketing found something better. PAN was the front runner as a replacement, but it already had tens of thousands of hits on the internet, and a full trademark search on RadioWire could not be completed in time for launch, making Bluetooth the only choice.
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