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Dummies, Wireless

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288<br />

Part IV: Using a <strong>Wireless</strong> Network<br />

Accordingly, we’ve begun to see Bluetooth functionality built into an increasing<br />

number of PDAs. For example, the newest Palm model, the Tungsten E2,<br />

includes a built-in Bluetooth system, as does the Nokia N800 Internet tablet<br />

(a handheld internet browsing device for when you just can’t be bothered<br />

to turn on that computer).<br />

You can also buy some cool Bluetooth accessories for handhelds. One big<br />

issue with handhelds is the process of entering data into them. Most either<br />

have a tiny keyboard (a thumb keyboard, really, which is too small for using<br />

all your fingers and touch typing) or use a handwriting system, where you<br />

use a stylus and write in not-quite-plain English on the screen. Both systems<br />

can work well if you spend the time required to master them, but neither is<br />

optimal, especially if you want to do some serious data entry — like writing<br />

a book! In that case, you really need a keyboard. Check out the Freedom Input<br />

Bluetooth keyboards (www.freedominput.com). These devices, available for<br />

PDAs, Windows Mobile devices, and smartphones, are compact (some even<br />

fold up) but give you a nearly full-size typing area.<br />

If you already own a PDA and it doesn’t have Bluetooth built in, what can<br />

you do? Do you really have to go and replace that old PDA with a new model?<br />

Maybe not. Several manufacturers are selling add-on cards for existing PDAs<br />

that enable Bluetooth communications. For example, Socket Communications<br />

(www.socketcom.com) sells Compact Flash (CF) Bluetooth cards for Windows<br />

Mobile PDAs. Speaking more generally, most PDAs and smartphones have a<br />

memory card slot — SD, Compact Flash, or memory stick — that is most often<br />

used to expand the amount of memory in the PDA but can be used for other<br />

purposes. You can find Bluetooth cards in these memory card formats. With<br />

the increasing number of devices already enabled with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, it<br />

will be harder and harder to find these memory card format wireless adapters<br />

in the near future.<br />

Getting a Bluetooth card installed and set up on your PDA is easy. The first<br />

thing you may have to do is to install some Bluetooth software on your<br />

handheld. If this step is required, you simply put the software CD in your PC<br />

and follow the onscreen instructions, which guide you through the process<br />

of setting up the software. After the software is on your PC, it should be<br />

automatically uploaded to your PDA the next time you sync it (using your<br />

cable or cradle). After the software is on your PDA, just slide the Bluetooth<br />

card into the PDA. The PDA recognizes it, and then may guide you through<br />

a quick setup wizard-type program. (Or it may not — this process is so<br />

automated that you may not notice anything happening.) That’s it — you’re<br />

Bluetooth-ed!<br />

After you get Bluetooth hardware and software on your PDA, you’re ready to<br />

go. By its nature, Bluetooth is constantly on the lookout for other Bluetooth<br />

devices. When it finds something else (such as your Bluetooth-equipped PC<br />

or a Bluetooth printer) that can “talk” Bluetooth, the two devices communicate<br />

and inform each other of their capabilities. If there’s a match (such as<br />

you have a document to print and a nearby printer has Bluetooth), a dialog

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