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Belkin Bluetooth USB Adapter 100 Meters
Punit Lodaya, Jan 10, 2005 0000 hrs ISTThe Belkin Bluetooth USB Adapter is one of those types of Bluetooth dongles, which most people look for in terms of looks
Sleek looks, Stylish, Lightweight
Very expensive
Expert Rating :
The sales of Bluetooth dongles have really picked up with almost every shop in Lamington Road stocking them. But, as usual, there are two breeds of such products, the good quality ones and the bad quality, but quite cheap ones. When we say quality, it defines the build quality, performance and ease of use. On those bases we try to select few good ones.
The Belkin Bluetooth USB Adapter 100 Meters is one of those types of Bluetooth dongles, which most people look for in terms of looks. The dongle came in a rather unnecessary big box, in which you could fit almost two-dozen of them. The dongle itself is small, sleek and stylish. Also, the color scheme of black and silver gives it a futuristic look. Measuring 64 (l) x 22 (w) x 8 (h) mm and weighing 12g, this is one of lightest dongles that we have evaluated so far.
Installation
Windows XP requires you to install Service Pack 1 before you can attach any Bluetooth device. Since it doesn't install any Bluetooth device automatically, the Belkin Bluetooth USB Adapter 100 Meters had to be installed manually. The installation took place without much effort. Installing the WIDCOMM Bluetooth software is highly recommended, as it is one of the easiest ways to configure the device. After installing the application, you can start it immediately. Upon starting it up, the configuration wizard pops up, which will guide you step-by-step to configure the dongle and the service you want to use with it. The software offers a variety of services like file transfer, Bluetooth LAN, fax, headset, etc. Even though a manual is provided explaining the step-by-step procedure, configuring Bluetooth devices with the dongle is still a pain in the neck.
Usage
Since the dongle complies with Bluetooth specification v1.1, it will be compatible with most Bluetooth products sold in the market. We were able to configure it to work with a variety of cell phones, headsets as well as another Bluetooth dongle. It didn't seem to have any compatibility issue with cell phones like Nokia 3650, 7650, N-Gage and other Series 60 phones like Sony Ericsson T68, P800, P900 and P910. One can also sync this device with Pocket PCs and Palmtops having Bluetooth support. It can even be connected to printers having Bluetooth support like the HP DJ450 CI. Programs such as Nokia PC suite and Oxygen Phone manager were also compatible with this Bluetooth dongle.
Performance
The rated working range of this Bluetooth dongle is 100 meters. But in reality, the range depends upon a lot of factors such as environment, numbers of users and other wireless devices. It was able to work properly up to 30 meters, but with a lot of interference in between. Anything beyond that used to disconnect the Bluetooth device. But then even 30 meters is quite good enough for Bluetooth communication. The transfer speed of this device with a cell phone (Nokia N-Gage) was around 30 Kbps in both the directions. Performance wise, it is up to the mark.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a sleek Bluetooth dongle, then this is the one. But, this dongle sells for Rs. 3,400/-, which is almost double the price of other similar performing Bluetooth dongles like the X-Micro Bluetooth USB Dongle. It is highly recommended to skip this one, unless you are going the Apple way of getting good-looking stuff.
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