Posted by arlene

Other Bluetooth Profiles

Bluetooth 1.x and 2.0 specifications provide for several others. More profiles are expected to be added if the technology is accepted by the marketplace as a solution for short-distance cable replacement. Many of the following profiles are still in draft format and are not yet considered to be standards that all Bluetooth vendors will adopt. When you purchase a Bluetooth device that supports the following profiles, be sure to check the description of the device to determine whether it supports an established standard, or whether it is based on a draft standard. For example, devices supporting 802.11g wireless networking were originally released based on the draft of this protocol, assuming that there would be very few changes from the drafts to the adopted standards.

For those who want to find out what may be in store for Bluetooth devices, the draft profiles include the following:

• Fax Profile—This profile allows for wireless fax services.

• LAN Access Profile—This profile provides for a connection to a LAN. This is similar to the functions that Wi-Fi provides using Access Points. The Point-to-Point protocol (PPP) is used. This profile also can be used to create a LAN consisting of only Bluetooth devices.

• Generic Object Exchange Profile (GOEP)—This profile borrows from the OBEX protocol and allows for the exchange of data between devices—between a cordless telephone, a PDA, and a PC. It is used by the other profiles in this list.

• Object Push Profile—This profile uses GOEP for the exchange of simple objects, such as electronic business cards or appointment data. This profile can be used to “pull” objects, as well as to push them to another device.

• File Transfer Profile—This profile uses GOEP to browse a file system on a remote device, as well as transfer files between devices, delete files, or create new folders (directories).

• The Synchronization Profile—This profile uses GOEP to provide a service for synchronizing data in various kinds of databases, for example, calendars, address books, and Personal Information Managers (PIMs).

• The Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVCP)—This profile describes features used for Bluetooth devices that support audio and/or video exchanges. The command set used for this type of exchange is defined by this profile. Streaming audio or video is not defined in this profile, however.

• The Generic Audio/Video Distribution Profile (GAVDP)—Based on AVCP (and other previous profiles, such as the Generic Access Protocol), this profile describes the techniques necessary to support streaming audio and video between Bluetooth devices.

• The Advanced Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP)—This profile is designed to enhance AVCP and GAVDP by providing for remote control functionality, for example, the features usually found on an audio or video remote control, such as volume settings, pause, play, and so on.

• The Basic Imaging Profile (BIP)—Standard network protocols such as FTP can be used to transfer graphic imaging files, as well as other types of files. With FTP, however, there is no guarantee that a receiving device can correctly display the images it receives. This profile provides the mechanisms needed to provide interoperability between devices, by requiring that Bluetooth devices be able to transmit/receive imaging files in JPEG thumbnail formats, regardless of the imaging format stored on the sender. This profile also enables the device to download the characteristics of other imaging file formats, and transfer them to printers, as well as offering the capability of controlling an imaging device, such as a digital camera.

• Basic Printing Profile (BPP)—The Generic Object Exchange Profile and Generic Access Profile are combined with the specifications of this profile to provide simple printing capabilities for Bluetooth. This profile addresses printing simple files, such as emails, and some formatted documents, such as calendars.

• The Bluetooth Extended Service Discovery Profile (ESDP)—This profile describes how Bluetooth devices can make use of Bluetooth’s Service Discovery Protocol (SDP) to discover devices that use the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) service.

• The Hands-Free Profile (HFP)—A minimum set of functions necessary for a mobile phone that uses hands-free devices is described by this profile. The Bluetooth device will be able to provide voice communications as well as remote control for the hands-free device.

Bluetooth Is More Than a Wireless Communication Protocol

As you can see, Bluetooth is not just a protocol used to exchange data between devices. The use of profiles further delineates the different kinds of applications that can be used with Bluetooth radio transmitters and thus makes it easier for manufacturers to produce portable devices that have applications built in and ready for use. You can contrast this with Wi-Fi, which simply provides the communications link just as traditional LAN or WAN protocols provide. Bluetooth provides both the radio frequency transport mechanisms and application-specific solutions that make interoperability between devices easy to implement.

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