Bluetooth dongle: range and suitability; what to buy

eBay has lots of Bluetooth USB adapters ("dongles") at low prices - some
seem to be selling for around GBP 15 Are they all much of a sameness, or
are some better then others?

How can a buyer be sure of getting one worth having?

Some are stated to have a range of 30m - will they work through walls/
floors, such as from a bedroom to a lounge?

I'd like to be able to surf from my bed, occasionally, using my
Bluetooth- enabled iPAQ ;-)
--
Andy Mabbett Reply to [my first name] [at] pigsonthewing.org.uk
USA imprisons children without trial, at Guantanamo Bay:
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2970279.stm>
<http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510582003?open&of=ENG-USA>

Depends. I bought a class 1 (100m range) MSI dongle from dabs.com, and it's
pretty good (around 20 quid), but you'll be lucky to get a connection at the
quoted 10m (30 feet) range of bluetooth class 2 devices, as the ipaq (in my
case, my Clie) will be the limiting factor. If you really wan't to surf from
any distance, I'm afraid it's a job for 802.11 wirelessness (or a long usb
lead for the dongle ;-) ). With 2 walls in the way and a distance of ~6m my
Clie and Nokia phone both lose the connection to the MSI dongle; but they're
good for around 8-10m line-of-sight.

A tip though, if you still wan't to go the way of bluetooth, buy a TDK or
Belkin dongle ( :-( more expensive I'm afraid), they have much better driver
support (and believe me, this makes a *lot* of difference!). At the very
least, make sure the dongle you buy uses the Widcomm bluetooth stack, as
this seems pretty much the best out there at the moment, and is regularly
updated and made better. Other stacks seem to give people no end of grief in
getting the bluetooth up and working.

Pity they don't make little bluetooth repeater stations to extend the range
around the house really, as bluetooth seems so much cheaper than 802.11.

"Andy Mabbett" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:S90TWIBIf9s$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> eBay has lots of Bluetooth USB adapters ("dongles") at low prices - some
> seem to be selling for around GBP 15 Are they all much of a sameness, or
> are some better then others?
>
> How can a buyer be sure of getting one worth having?
>
> Some are stated to have a range of 30m - will they work through walls/
> floors, such as from a bedroom to a lounge?
>
> I'd like to be able to surf from my bed, occasionally, using my
> Bluetooth- enabled iPAQ ;-)
> --
> Andy Mabbett Reply to [my first name] [at] pigsonthewing.org.uk
> USA imprisons children without trial, at Guantanamo Bay:
> <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2970279.stm>
> <http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510582003?open&of=ENG-USA>

I can recommend the Belkin bluetooth which is approximately £30.00 or less.
Easy to use and install.


"G" <cool_and_funky@*-nospamthanks_*yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:f90tb.3697$_(E-Mail Removed)...
> Depends. I bought a class 1 (100m range) MSI dongle from dabs.com, and
it's
> pretty good (around 20 quid), but you'll be lucky to get a connection at
the
> quoted 10m (30 feet) range of bluetooth class 2 devices, as the ipaq (in
my
> case, my Clie) will be the limiting factor. If you really wan't to surf
from
> any distance, I'm afraid it's a job for 802.11 wirelessness (or a long usb
> lead for the dongle ;-) ). With 2 walls in the way and a distance of ~6m
my
> Clie and Nokia phone both lose the connection to the MSI dongle; but
they're
> good for around 8-10m line-of-sight.
>
> A tip though, if you still wan't to go the way of bluetooth, buy a TDK or
> Belkin dongle ( :-( more expensive I'm afraid), they have much better
driver
> support (and believe me, this makes a *lot* of difference!). At the very
> least, make sure the dongle you buy uses the Widcomm bluetooth stack, as
> this seems pretty much the best out there at the moment, and is regularly
> updated and made better. Other stacks seem to give people no end of grief
in
> getting the bluetooth up and working.
>
> Pity they don't make little bluetooth repeater stations to extend the
range
> around the house really, as bluetooth seems so much cheaper than 802.11.
>
> "Andy Mabbett" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:S90TWIBIf9s$(E-Mail Removed)...
> >
> > eBay has lots of Bluetooth USB adapters ("dongles") at low prices - some
> > seem to be selling for around GBP 15 Are they all much of a sameness, or
> > are some better then others?
> >
> > How can a buyer be sure of getting one worth having?
> >
> > Some are stated to have a range of 30m - will they work through walls/
> > floors, such as from a bedroom to a lounge?
> >
> > I'd like to be able to surf from my bed, occasionally, using my
> > Bluetooth- enabled iPAQ ;-)
> > --
> > Andy Mabbett Reply to [my first name] [at] pigsonthewing.org.uk
> > USA imprisons children without trial, at Guantanamo Bay:
> > <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2970279.stm>
> > <http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510582003?open&of=ENG-USA>
>
>

In message <tX8tb.165$(E-Mail Removed)>, Simon Plumb
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>I can recommend the Belkin bluetooth which is approximately £30.00 or
>less. Easy to use and install.

Generally, or for the purposes I outlines *iPAQ in first floor bedroom,
PC in downstairs lounge)?
--
Andy Mabbett Reply to [my first name] [at] pigsonthewing.org.uk
USA imprisons children without trial, at Guantanamo Bay:
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2970279.stm>
<http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510582003?open&of=ENG-USA>