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	Review: BlueKey

Last update: 07-15-2004	Submitted by Joel



What better way to maximize the use of your Bluetooth-enabled PDA than as security devices? That's what Bluekey has done. BlueKey works simply by looking for any pre-paired Bluetooth devices nearby. If the devices are found, the PDA is unlocked and you can go on ahead and access your PDA. I was a bit skeptical at first, being used to just using Bluetooth as a data exchange feature of my TH55/E. I was looking for other uses of Bluetooth so I decided to check out what BlueKey claims to do. I extremely enjoyed the results! What I did first was to pair my TH55/E with the Powerbook and the SonyEricsson T610. I then set BlueKey to always lock the Clie when powered-down so that when I turned on the Clie, BlueKey would always check if the Powerbook or the T610 was around. If BlueKey found any one of the two, then it granted me access to the Clie. If Bluekey cannot find any Bluetooth device, I could either tap in the password or tap the Retry button to check again. Two buttons would help you see the progress of BlueKey. The buttons would "light up" onscreen: blue for search device/s, red for missing devices, green for unlock and go. If the red color appears, you can either enter a password or tap the retry key. There are many ways to set BlueKey to automatically lock the PDA. These options are: Never, On power off, After a preset delay, or Application dependent. Never is like deactivating BlueKey. On power off locks the PDA every time it's shut down. After a preset delay allows you to choose how many minutes or hours you want your PDA to automatically lock. Finally, Application dependent lets you choose to lock any installed application. If you set you PDA to always lock at power off, then you will encounter a minimal (about three seconds) delay every time you turn on your PDA. This delay is caused by BlueKey as it searches for devices. So if you don't want any delays, probably it's best to choose another setup. These options are great to have around because of the flexibility they offer. I set mine to always lock on power off but I tested each setup and I knew these were carefully thought of to cover any security setup a user might need. You can choose up to three devices to pair with BlueKey. Once BlueKey is set in the Preferences, your PDA is locked unless BlueKey sees any paired device nearby. My only suggestion are further tweaks for unlocking. For example, there could be a setup to look for devices: device 1 AND device 2, device 1 OR device 2, ALL devices, or ANY device. BlueKey is a great application to use to secure your PDA. You just need a Bluetooth-enabled PDA and at least another Bluetooth device to set together. From there, there's no need to type security passwords to access your PDA. All you need is Bluetooth working for you, and BlueKey has successfully done this. BlueKey is being developed by Aun Heng Wong and is available for only $9.95 at Palmgear . Thanks to Aun Heng Wong for the support!