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    Difference Between Bluetooth and Wifi

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    Antara Saha

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    Difference Between Bluetooth and Wifi

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    Antara Saha
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    Difference Between Bluetooth and Wifi

    Uploaded by

    Antara Saha

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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    Difference between Bluetooth and wifi

    Bluetooth® and WiFi® are both wireless technologies that use radio frequency (RF) waves to create networks, but they’re
    used for fundamentally different purposes. Bluetooth®’s main purpose is to temporarily link an individual’s personal
    devices together over short distances, while WiFi’s purpose is to link multiple computers together over longer distances.

    Although Bluetooth® and WiFi both create networks, Bluetooth® creates a Personal Area Network (PAN) by generating
    low frequency radio waves that all Bluetooth®-enabled devices in the immediate area can join to be interoperable. You
    might think of this as a “shroud” surrounding an individual user. A Bluetooth® headset, for example, allows hands-free
    cell phone use for driving or working. Other types of personal devices can swap files, synchronize data and even share
    access to the Internet through an Internet-enabled laptop, cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA) or iPod®.

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    A Bluetooth® network can also be used to send files from your laptop to your desktop, or from your laptop to your printer.
    If a machine does not come with Bluetooth® capability built-in, adapters are available. Most adapters make use of a
    Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, but other types of adapters are also available.

    WiFi also uses radio frequency (RF) waves, but its protocols are designed to connect multiple computers. In the case of a
    business, WiFi allows many computers to communicate with each other without stringing cable between them, saving
    considerable money and time in the installation process. Computers operating over the WiFi LAN can share databases,
    files, programs and resources including printers, scanners and fax machines. The computers might also share Internet
    access, though this isn’t a requirement of a LAN.

    A home WiFi network is almost always setup to share Internet access among all computers in the household, while it may
    or may not be configured to share files and resources. Between Bluetooth® and WiFi, Bluetooth® is much easier to use
    for swapping files between computers at home, and even for sending files to a nearby printer. There is virtually no setup
    involved in establishing a Bluetooth® network, while a LAN requires some configuration and know-how to allow sharing
    of files and resources.

    Since Bluetooth® works with battery operated devices, it most commonly uses a low-powered Class 2 radio to broadcast
    the RF network, generating a weak signal that doesn’t extend effectively beyond 30 feet (~10 meters) or so. Class 1
    Bluetooth® can reach 10x further, geared towards connecting home devices powered by electricity. WiFi also comes in
    different flavors and architectures, currently meeting or exceeding the 300-foot (~100m) range.

    Bluetooth® and WiFi each follow specific protocols and standards that make it easy for manufacturers to design and
    market Bluetooth® and WiFi products that will be interoperable with other brands and products that support the same
    standards. For example, as of winter 2008 the current Bluetooth® standard is 2.0 and the newest available WiFi standard is
    802.11n, faster than the previous standard, 802.11g. When shopping for network-capable devices, be sure they support the
    desired standard and version.

    Another way that Bluetooth® and WiFi differ is that WiFi is supported by modems and routers, while a near-infinite range
    of products might support Bluetooth®. Personal devices and home entertainment products are forever evolving, making
    interoperability a highly desired feature. Perhaps the biggest commonality between Bluetooth® and WiFi is that both
    technologies are incredibly useful and widespread; in homes, businesses, government, and in virtually every aspect of life.
    Difference between Bluetooth and zigbee

    Bluetooth and ZigBee have much in common. Both are types of IEEE 802.15 "wireless personal-
    area networks," or WPANs. Both run in the 2.4-GHz unlicensed frequency band, and both use
    small form factors and low power.

    At the Wireless Communications Alliance's February meeting in Silicon Valley, Bhupender


    Virk, president and CEO of WPAN components maker CompXs, sorted out the application and
    technical differences between Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1) and the ZigBee specification (based on
    IEEE 802.15.4), which was ratified in December.

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    ZigBee protocols define a type of sensor network for residential and commercial applications
    such as heating, air conditioning and lighting control. It combines IEEE 802.15.4, which defines
    the physical and MAC protocol layers, with network, security and application software layers as
    specified by the ZigBee Alliance, a consortium of technology companies.

    Imagine the freedom if light switches were to become wireless, eliminating the electrical cabling
    through your walls, for example.

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    Bluetooth, as you likely know, eliminates cabling between electronic products and accessories,
    such as between computers and printers or between phones and headsets. Bluetooth users with
    handhelds or laptops can exchange files, business cards and calendar appointments. Bluetooth is
    more oriented toward user mobility and eliminating short-distance cabling; ZigBee aims more
    for grand-scale automation and remote control.

    The first ZigBee products are now in interoperability testing through April, says Virk, who
    expects alliance-certified products to be available in the third quarter (when he says CompXs
    will ship a ZigBee protocol analyzer). Industry reports imply that, eventually, ZigBee might be
    built into mobile phones via dual-function ZigBee-Bluetooth chips for remote control of nearly
    anything you can think of and for buying items from vending machines.

    Finally, for the geeks among us, Virk pointed out some technical differences between the two
    protocols:
    * Modulation technique
    Bluetooth: Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
    ZigBee: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)

    * Protocol stack size


    Bluetooth: 250K bytes
    ZigBee: 28K bytes

    * Battery
    Bluetooth: Intended for frequent recharging
    ZigBee: Not rechargeable (one reason batteries will last for up to 10 years)

    * Maximum network speed:


    Bluetooth: 1M bit/sec
    ZigBee:  250K bit/sec

    * Network range:
    Bluetooth: 1 or 100 meters, depending on radio class
    ZigBee: Up to 70 meters

    * Typical network join time


    Bluetooth: 3 seconds
    ZigBee: 30 milliseconds

    Read more about wireless & mobile in Network World's Wireless & Mobile section.

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