Which Bluetooth Dongle are you guys using?

[yOyOYoo]

There hasn't been too much posted about the specific bluetooth dongle everyone is using.

I have heard references to the names: Billionton, Anycom, msi, Bluetake, Mitsumi, and Belkin in my searches. The prices vary greatly. I see ones that can be had on ebay for <$30 yet the Belkin one costs $60.

If I just buy a cheapo one on ebay will it be of less quality than the Belkin one? What's the difference between all these brands of bluetooth dongles? Im basically looking for ease of use, like how difficult it would be to pair my PC up with my TG50 for wireless web surfing as well as wireless BT hotsyncing.

Any tips or info on how you guys go about doing this as well as which bluetooth dongle you guys use will be MUCH appreciated. Thank you all!

[plessdude]

The belkin usb bluetooth dongle for 29.99 at compusa works great for me. I used to use the ambicom adapter and the software sucked so the device was unreliable. I recently switched all of bluetooth devices to the Belkin stuff cause I really like how stable all their software works. I think their pc card is pretty cheap as well. Best of all its something that most places like Comp USA and Best Buy stock so you can pick one up in a heartbeat as needed. Also check out the Belkin Bluetooth Access Point that runs about 150.00 and works like a charm.

[yOyOYoo]

thanks plessdude, about the belkin usb bluetooth dongle at compusa, is that the one with 10m range? I looked around and the belkin (the one with the sharkfin) that costs $60 has a range of 100feet. I was pretty impressed with that range. I think I might go with that one.

Any other comments?

[plessdude]

I thought that the TG50 only had a radio range of 10 meters though. The Belkin Access point has the 100 meter radio yet I can only go about 20 feet away and the connection is lost. The whole 100 meter radio thing is a marketing ploy in my opinion since you would need direct line of site to benefit from it even if you had 100 meter radios on each end. I don't know about you but my house does not have any 300 foot open spaces where I could benefit from the 100m range;). As soon as I try to go through a wall the connection just dies. Might as well go for the cheap one then.

JMHO

[VCodePony]

plessdude,

The 100m range isn't marketing, it's your POS Belkin WAP. Many people (myself included) are having the same problem as you. I called Belkin about mine and they are sending me a new one. For reference, I also have Belkin's USB Dongle with the antenna. This adapter is rated at 100 meters, and I can get every inch of the 10m my TG50 or my TungstenT are rated for when using it. I can't get any further than 15 feet from the WAP (with any device) until I loose the signal.

[yOyOYoo]

so to sum things up, you guys are basically saying I would get the same results from the bluetooth dongle rated at 10meters to this other belkin one rated at 100meters?

If this is true, I must cancel my order from provantage.com for the Belkin F8T001 (the one with the sharkfin) for $52.79 shipped.

What is the difference between class 1 and class 2 bluetooth devices? Shucks I was actually thinking I could use the bluetooth dongle and walk around my whole entire house without losing connection...

Last question, can more than one user connect to the web via the bluetooth dongle at one time?

[yOyOYoo]

Also, whenever I do get a bluetooth dongle and can establish a Wireless Hotsync, is it also possible to do a wireless MS IMPORT, so that I can transfer mp3s and movies to the CLIE without the cradle at all? thanks.

[plessdude]

VCodePony,

I did not know that other people were having the same problem. Is there a firmware revision coming out anytime soon. I really hate having to send stuff back:) Even if it worked for the full 100m range I still do not see the point of having a device positioned to compete with wifi (same advertised claims about range) yet have the signal die as soon as you hit a wall (unlike wifi) There really isn't a way around this problem. Hopefully more power friendly wifi cards will find their way into future handhelds making the whole use of bluetooth for internet access in your house a dead issue. I thought the whole point of bluetooth was short range communication. In any event, keep us posted about the range of your replacement unit.

YoYo,

Don't waste your money. Get the el cheapo model. As for more than one user I am not sure about the dongle but I know the AP supports 7 users but I have never tried it. Wireless Hotsync is the killer reason to get the dongle! Wireless MS IMPORT does not seem to work for me but I have to admit I have not spent much time trying to get it to work. Even if I could since Bluetooth is limited to around 768k/sec transfer it would be much slower than just using the cradle or getting an external reader.

[yOyOYoo]

thanks pless! im cancelling the order right now.

As for an "el cheapo" BT dongle, any recommendations?

[Unregistered]

Just get the 29.99 belkin without the extra antenna. Its all you need.

[VCodePony]

plessdude,

The unit is upgradable as far as firmware but none have been released. I went through the update process with my WAP and have the same firmware I started with.

As far as Bluetooth vs WiFi, everyone has their own opinion, and mine is that WiFi is not suited for battery-powered devices. I have WiFi in my home that I use for desktops and love the flexibility of placing the desktop anywhere in any room I choose. Handhelds to me are another matter. My wife uses a Tungsten T and I have a TG50. We both want to be able to grab email and some light web browsing. When doing this, I don't want to have the battery drain down if I choose to be out on the deck for an afternoon. I know this can happen, because the BT Dongle is hosted from a desktop in my office which is in the extreme corner of the house, and I can BT Hotsync with it. My only problem is a faulty WAP, and once I get that solved I'll be in good shape.

[jaggrey]

cool this thread is very helpful.&nbsp; I was just going thru the same thing, but I was gonna get a D-Link one thru Newegg ($43 shipped) instead of getting one of the el cheapo ones off of ebay.&nbsp; I think instead I'll get the Belkin one you guys are speaking of from CompUSA.&nbsp; Is this the one? http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=300229&amp;pfp=BROWSE&nbsp; If so it's $39.99 here.

[plessdude]

VCodePony,

Did you ever get wireless network hotsync to work with the Belkin AP? Sorry if this has been covered before but I just found this place last week. I am sure that in 18 months we should have wifi built into the chip (just like the Centrino) for PDA's and this problem will be overcome. Once faster chips and improved networking stacks for Palm OS come around it will be great to be able to use the PDA and get desktop like performance while browsing and e-mailing. Imagine full motion streaming media to the pda while talking a bathroom break during the Superbowl!

[VCodePony]

jaggery,

I have this one -> http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=294015&pfp=BROWSE


plessdude,

I never got the network hotsync to work, but the SuperDongle works better than the WAP and I use it to do a BT Serial hotsync.

[jaggrey]

Originally posted by VCodePony
jaggery,

I have this one -&gt; http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=294015&amp;pfp=BROWSE
But if the range of the radio on the Clie is only 10m, then what good does a 100m do?&nbsp; Or do you have other Bluetooth devices that support the full 100m?

[yOyOYoo]

Too bad the range on the Clie radio is only 10meters

so there is absolutely no way I can get my TG50 connected to my PC anywhere past 10 meters, not even with the Belkin 100meter proposed range? Thats too bad...