Explain this Bluetooth to me

[xmann]

Ok, i have a Zire 72S that i primarily use for nursing school. Do i have to have another bluetooth device to be able to connect with my Zire?

I know i need a wifi, but is there more to it than just having an active internet connection nearby?

[T3_slider]

Um...I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but I'll try and explain.

Bluetooth is a personal area network, meaning it is very short-range. You can connect one bluetooth device (Like your Zire) to another bluetooth device (Like another Palm or a cell phone or a GPS device or a bluetooth-enabled computer etc.). If you get a bluetooth access point, you can surf the internet using bluetooth (Or if you get a bluetooth dongle for a computer and share the internet with the computer).

WiFi, on the other hand, is a longer-range solution. If you get a WiFi card for you Zire (Or get an Enfora Wireless Portfolio), you can connect to a wireless internet connection via a wireless router (Or you can share an internet connection with a wired computer by using a WiFi adapter, connecting the Palm to the computer in 'adhoc' mode). In order to use a WiFi connection, you need to have a WiFi SD card or an Enfora Wireless Portfolio for your Zire. Bluetooth cannot work with WiFi unless you use a bridge, which is complicated and not readily available right now.

If you can get a bluetooth dongle (cheapest option) and hook it up to your computer, you can set it up to share the internet connection and you are set for web-browsing on your Zire just like that (Although you can't wander too far away from your computer). If you get a bluetooth access point (More expensive option), you can connect to it with your Zire and you'll be surfing the web in no time with a longer range. If you get a wireless router AND a WiFi SD card or an Enfora Wireless Portfolio, you can get long range and can surf (Although if you choose the WiFi card you will not have access to your SD card while surfing the internet).

Note that Bluetooth shortens battery life and WiFi severely shortens battery life (Although the Enfora Wireless Portfolio has its own battery, so you can access the SD card AND have long battery life).

I *hope* this answers your question. If it doesn't, just say so and try to explain your question a little more clearly. Hopefully you'll be surfing the 'net in no time.

[xmann]

ya that answers it sorta. thanks :)

all i really wanted to know is.....if i dont have another bluetooth device, but just wanted to occasionally access the internet, how could i do that? sorta like when i use my laptop, i can connect to a network. thats what i was wondering how to do with my pda.

thanks again for the help :)

[Tam Hanna]

A little warning ahead: i rarely get more than 5-6m of range from my Tungsten T3...so this is really short-range IMHO.

Try to position the dongle/Access point in the center of your flat so that you an connect from everywhere - USB or Networl elongation cables can help here.

[T3_slider]

ya that answers it sorta. thanks

all i really wanted to know is.....if i dont have another bluetooth device, but just wanted to occasionally access the internet, how could i do that? sorta like when i use my laptop, i can connect to a network. thats what i was wondering how to do with my pda.

thanks again for the help
Well, it sounds like WiFi is your best option (Either a WiFi SD card of the Enfora Portfolio, depending on how much you're willing to spend). This allows a direct connection to any available network. A bluetooth dongle would work, but it sound like you need to connect to a WiFi network (from what I can tell).

[xmann]

that answers my questions, thanks! now just gotta figure out which would be better for me.

my primary use would be at the hospital i work and school.

[squeff]

ya that answers it sorta. thanks :)

all i really wanted to know is.....if i dont have another bluetooth device, but just wanted to occasionally access the internet, how could i do that? sorta like when i use my laptop, i can connect to a network. thats what i was wondering how to do with my pda.

thanks again for the help :)

Unless you have a cell phone with bluetooth (and a cell phone provider with a data plan), you're much better off with WiFi to access the Internet. While it's possible to connect to the Internet with BT, you'll need to find a BT access point, which is unlikely. And, given the shorter range of BT, even less likely.

So, if you don't own another BT device, then this isn't going to be a good solution for accessing the Internet.

That said, if you go with WiFi (I don't know much about doing that on a Zire), you will still need to find a free or pay access point. If you want to access the Internet where there isn't one (e.g., coffee shop), you're out of luck. If you're OK with connecting where you wirelessly connect your laptop, then you'll be fine. As long as where you connect doesn't require more security (VPN or WPA or someting else) that isn't supported on your handheld.

If "I want to be able connect anywhere" is a need for you, then a cell phone and data plan would the way to go. There are several options there, including using the BT on your Zire to connect through the phone, getting a phone with a larger screen (like a Treo), etc. I'm suspecting, however, that this is not an expense you were looking to take on.

[_Em]

You guys have missed one option: he can do PPP over USB. Dock your Zire with your computer, and set your computer up to have a PPP gateway (Windows computers don't have the required software installed by default; you have to get a usable package from somewhere -- store, shareware download, or installing and configuring cygwin). This will be much faster than Bluetooth.

[squeff]

You guys have missed one option: he can do PPP over USB. Dock your Zire with your computer, and set your computer up to have a PPP gateway (Windows computers don't have the required software installed by default; you have to get a usable package from somewhere -- store, shareware download, or installing and configuring cygwin). This will be much faster than Bluetooth.

But this isn't wirless, is it?

Being physically tethered to a computer kind of defeats the point, no?

[_Em]

Ok, i have a Zire 72S that i primarily use for nursing school. Do i have to have another bluetooth device to be able to connect with my Zire?

I know i need a wifi, but is there more to it than just having an active internet connection nearby?

:)
He needs a network connection.