What is Bluetooth and how does it compare to WiFi?

Bluetooth (BT) is a separate set of wireless standards to the IEEE 802.11 suite. It is similar to WiFi in that it can connect two devices with radio signals. The differences:

• Speed: BT speeds are ~ 720kbps, WiFi maxes out at 11mbps
• Distance: BT primarily was designed for short range, up to 30 feet; while WiFi theoretically can reach 500 feet.
• Applications: BT was designed as a cable replacement, essentially to connect devices point-to-point. WiFi is designed to hook up an entire network.
• Simplicity: BT devices "advertise" their capabilities to others, and a single device can be connected to up to seven other devices at the same time.
• Cost: A quick survey of prices indicates that BT devices are slightly more expensive than their WiFi counterparts. However, the total final cost for each individual user will depend largely on their intended usage. Those people that already have some BT devices (BT-enabled printers and cell phones, for example) will find it less expensive to add a BT CF card to their Axim X5 than to add network capabilities to their printer or a modem-cable for their cell phone. On the other hand, if the user wants to use WiFi hotspots in addition to a cell phone connection, they will still need to buy the WiFi CF card and thus the economics will change. With PPCs that have built-in BT and WiFi, the user can pick and choose which protocol is used with each potential application.
• Energy usage: BT uses less power than WiFi, making it a good choice for connecting multiple battery powered devices or from a battery powered device to other equipment.
• Other equipment: WiFi equipment is essentially limited to computers and a few auxilary devices (in particular, printers). Since Bluetooth is designed primarily as a cable replacement, many more devices are available for BT connectivity. This includes printers, cameras, cell phones, keyboards, headsets, radios, etc. While users have been successful communicating with cell phones and other computing devices (PC, laptops, other PDAs) with their BT-enabled Axims, it is really not known whether all the available BT equipment will function in concert with the Axim.

Even though they were designed for different purposes, the lines are somewhat blurry. Recent developments with BT include APs with 100-meter ranges.

Check Ted's Bluetooth Guide for Pocket PC Devices for details on using BlueTooth with your PPC.