bluetooth??

[doma]

i am getting a bluetooth phone within the next month or so and i know i need to get a bluetooth dongle to hook up to my pc so that my pc and my phone can see each other... what can i do once they have seen each other??
- what can i do from my phone to the pc?
- what can i do from the pc to the phone?
- do the dongle's install easily and connect to the device automatically if the bluetooth is enable on the phone?

thanks and any other information would be helpfull!!

 

[yukichigai]

I'll answer. I have one of these setups myself.

Now, technically, what the phone can do hooked up to the PC depends on the phone, but almost invariably bluetooth-enabled phones will have certain capabilities: modem, fax, file transfer. Some of them will have an additional networking component so the phone can use the PC's internet connection, etc., and I've even seen one or two that can be used as remote sound devices. (e.g. headset, speaker, etc.) File transfer goes both ways, (usually) and the modem and fax capabilities are obviously PC->phone only.

Now as far as connecting up your PC to your phone, it's usually fairly simple. Most bluetooth dongles come with included software which should walk you through the process. If not, XP has a built-in bluetooth utility that is decent. (Though it has no support for headsets and some "serial port" devices, e.g. infrared) The most complicated part usually is finding the "enable bluetooth discovery" setting on your phone, so it's visible to the PC. Some phones you also need to change settings if you want your PC to be able to automatically connect to the phone without requiring you to OK it on the phone side via a popup.

Now I want to point out that the way the "modem" functionality works is, almost invariably, different than you might think. The phone doesn't work as a traditional modem, dialing a phone number and thereby using your minutes, but rather as a "fake" modem, so Windows can grasp the concept without throwing a rod, which uses your data transfer plan. (Your internet useage bandwith, if your plan has one) I'm fortunate enough that I was able to get a $20/mo unlimited data transfer plan on my phone, so I use it quite frequently when I'm on vacation in the middle of buttf%$# nowhere. The speed is roughly comprable to 56k, about 1.5x the speed if you're in a major metropolitan area, down to 14.4 speeds if you're on the edge of the coverage area. This is assuming your phone only does GPRS. If you have a phone which uses EDGE or any of the newer network protocols (you should know, they'll plug it thousands of times when they sell you the phone) then you can get significantly faster speeds (EDGE is roughly 3-5x 56k speeds, and it goes up from there) provided you have EDGE/etc. service wherever you are.

Umm... so enjoy!

 

[kami333]

I see you found the right forum...

It all depends on the phone.

On my SE K750i
Phone to PC: Send and recieve files, sync contacts/calender/notes with Outlook, remote control (iTunes etc)

PC to phone: use it as a dialup modem, type and send sms

Dongle: I use an Iomega bluetooth dongle, works well. You have to conect to the device and recognize it first but after that whenever the bluetooth is enabled and it is in range you can use it without doing anything.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Now I want to point out that the way the "modem" functionality works is, almost invariably, different than you might think. The phone doesn't work as a traditional modem, dialing a phone number and thereby using your minutes, but rather as a "fake" modem, so Windows can grasp the concept without throwing a rod, which uses your data transfer plan. (Your internet useage bandwith, if your plan has one) I'm fortunate enough that I was able to get a $20/mo unlimited data transfer plan on my phone, so I use it quite frequently when I'm on vacation in the middle of buttf%$# nowhere. The speed is roughly comprable to 56k, about 1.5x the speed if you're in a major metropolitan area, down to 14.4 speeds if you're on the edge of the coverage area. This is assuming your phone only does GPRS. If you have a phone which uses EDGE or any of the newer network protocols (you should know, they'll plug it thousands of times when they sell you the phone) then you can get significantly faster speeds (EDGE is roughly 3-5x 56k speeds, and it goes up from there) provided you have EDGE/etc. service wherever you are.

Umm... so enjoy!

On Verizon networks you can use it as a normal dialup modem to your dialup account, only connects at 14.4k though.

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: kami333
On Verizon networks you can use it as a normal dialup modem to your dialup account, only connects at 14.4k though.

Ahh yes, that's right, Verizon works like that. PCS is able to send the required frequencies to connect at 14.4 speeds. I'm not sure there isn't a way to send a special code to use a Verizon phone as a virtual modem, though.

Just so you know, using most cell phones as a virtual modem requires a specific code, usually *99#, *91# or some variant.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: yukichigai

Originally posted by: kami333
On Verizon networks you can use it as a normal dialup modem to your dialup account, only connects at 14.4k though.

Ahh yes, that's right, Verizon works like that. PCS is able to send the required frequencies to connect at 14.4 speeds. I'm not sure there isn't a way to send a special code to use a Verizon phone as a virtual modem, though.

Just so you know, using most cell phones as a virtual modem requires a specific code, usually *99#, *91# or some variant.

Verizon is #777, T-Mobile is #99, AT&T is *99# (yes I own too many cell phones). I use my Verizon E815 couple times a week to look stuff up on the road and when I'm in a hurry I use the virtual modem mode, as long as you force the phone to connect at 1xRTT they seem to look the other way:evil:

I have to say that Verizon's bluetooth has been and still is (even though they are supposed to be "reformed") basically crap though, they cripple it to the point where the only thing worth mentioning is the name bluetooth. The only reason I use Verizon is because the rest of my family does so it's easier just to add myself to the family plan. Plus it's a $60/month fee (fastest but also the highest) to add the tethered data plan, which they wouldn't let me add since I didn't want to buy their overpriced USB cable and they insisted that you couldn't tether through bluetooth (sigh, didn't want to push the issue too much since I knew it was just a matter of punching in a few extra keys to enable it)

 

[MangoTBG]

Cingular customer, here. I have the V551 and I use it as a virtual modem multiple times a month, normally atleast once a week. Anyways, the connection speed is pretty good, I've gotten as much as 15KB/s with full bars (that's actual download speed from newsgroups/websites...yes I was that desperate to download stuff ) Anyways as everyone here has said once you have the bluetooth initially set up it is quit simple to do stuff. I can rightclick ->send to->bluetooth->my cell and the file is on its way to my phone. Or to download from the phone its another few clicks away