You know the expression, "The more things change — the more things stay the same?" That certainly applies to what Bluetooth technology is. It works very much like that crazy little high tech device we call a radio. When a station broadcasts on radio waves, a radio (designed to pick up those waves) makes the inaudible signals audible. You could stand right next to a radio station and not know what song they were playing unless you had a radio with you.

Frequency Hopping In Timeslots

So, what is Bluetooth technology? It's a radio for wireless devices. It's also a translator, making, say, phones with Bluetooth technology able to download information to your PC or Laser printer. It only works for short distances, but it does keep your hands free. If you do a lot of driving for your job, then what is Bluetooth technology for you? A lifeline!

The actual science to describe every detail of what Bluetooth technology is would take up a book in and of itself. This will just be a summary, but it will still give you a good idea of what it's all about. Technically, the name of the means a Bluetooth device uses to do the magic it does is called "frequency hopping in timeslots".

Now, what does that mean? It means a Bluetooth device keeps changing from one radio frequency to another after a certain "packet" of data is received. This packet of data could be a unit or time, an email or small bits of information. Data or information is sent out on a global radio frequency. A computer chip in the Bluetooth device picks it up and acknowledges receiving it and then switches to another frequency. The gizmo sending the information also changes to that frequency. In case you're wondering, there are a lot of frequencies a Bluetooth can pick up.

Why Does It Sound So Clear?

Bluetooth devices are able to hone in on one signal and not every signal radio signal at work in the same area. Even microwave ovens should theoretically disrupt a Bluetooth transmission. This is because of hopping from frequency to frequency. If you just stayed on one frequency, then you would just get a lot of painful noise and no actual information.

So, in conclusion, let's review — what is Bluetooth technology? Nearly indistinguishable from a magic radio, in that it makes something useful seemingly come out of thin air.