Is the Bluetooth upgrade worth it?

I can't imagine what i'd use bluetooth for. I wouldn't rely on bluetooth headphones, or a bluetooth mouse.

The only thing i can think of, is it would be cool if i can download my pictures/movies off of my cellphone onto my computer. Can it at least do that?

Anyone have any practical uses for bluetooth? Otherwise i just won't include it.

 

I did it so I can use a wireless mouse.

On my last laptop I had to use the wireless USB adapter for my wireless mouse and it was WAY too easy to bend/brake.

So it's worth the 20bucks to me to not have to worry about anything sticking out of my computer.

 

That's the reason I got it, plus to transfer MP3s from my lappy to my cell.

 

It's only 20 bucks...why not have it...20 bucks on a $1000+ purchase is nothing.

 

i bought a bluetooth adapter for my desktop to transfer stuff from my phone, but then i found out it was much faster to use a microSD card, so meh.

 

It will suck up more battery power, and a few services under your OS, unless you know how to disable it. If you ever need it, it's still only about $20, and easy to install.

 

How much battery power could it possibly suck up if its not in use....

 

wtf you cant turn it off???

 

Well here is something to consider. When i have bluetooth turned on with my BlackJack cell phone, even without using the headset it only takes 9 hrs and the battery is completely empty. When I don't have bluetooth turned on, I can get about 20 hrs of use...so it somehow sucks a ton of battery.

 

I'm still skeptical that BT will make that big of a difference on a notebook.

 

Which is why it is usually pretty easy to toggle on/off Bluetooth...

I personally never had a problem with Bluetooth and battery life. Wifi and battery life yes but not Bluetooth. Its quite useful as well. I used a Dell D420 (now a Lenovo X60 tablet) and a Logitech V270 mouse. Worked great and was very portable.

 

I think it depends on what bluetooth profiles you phone supports. My LG 8700 has "File Transfer" and "Serial Connection" profiles as well of others. So it should be possible to treat bluetooth like a usb cable and transfer files. Maybe even get WWAN data connection over bluetooth using my cell?

@lordofericstan: It will make no difference unless you buy bluetooth accessories.

 

I do not have the Bluetooth upgrade, although I somewhat regret not getting it. But, I wouldn't have any use for it anyways, which is the main reason I didn't get it in the first place. So... yeah. My phone is the only thing I have that is bluetooth compatible and I already have a USB cable that connects it to my computer that also charges its battery. I hardly use the song feature.

If you have something you want to use with it, or think you may have a need for it later, get it. If not, then... don't?

 

Who doesnt have a need to hook up a nintendo wiimote to their computer?

 

I posted a question on another thread about bluetooth...

I ordered a 1420 and was wondering if these Motorola headphones would work. The key is if Dells Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR) Supports Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution (A2DP), Audio Video Remote Control (AVRCP), Hands-free (HFP), and Headset profiles¹... Here is the link to these nifty headsets: http://www.motorola.com/motoinfo/product/details.jsp?globalObjectId=177

I also ordered Dells bluetooth mouse.. so I am wondering as well if I can use both these devices at the same time?
By the looks of these headphones.. I would say its a plus to go with bluetooth.. NO WIRES. But the key is if they support A2DP.. If not, any headset will be reduced to low bitrate mono crap

 

I am about to buy those very same headphones but am wondering if it will work too.

 

Amen.

 

bluetooth decreasing battery life by 11hours? really, thats a little far fetched.

 

the bt module off ebay is about 30$ shipped. good idea just to buy it now. if you dont need it, take it out when you get it. chances are if you use your laptop a lot, in the future you will want BT.

 

you can use bluetooth to teather with your cell phone and be able to get online everywhere

 

Careful with cell phones, some phones are Majorly limited BT-wise by the provider.

 

I find that a bit exaggerated.

 

Bluetooth 2.0 notebook + windows mobile pda phone = Internet wherever you have a cell signal.

Now those of you without bluetooth can get out the usb cord and connect the dots but whats the point of having an almost $2000 laptop and a $500 pda phone when you gotta use cords or dongles.

Its a $20 option people. Stop being so cheap.

 

Not all of us have the money for an xps 2.2ghz 4gig ram and 200gb 7200 hdd. If your looking to save 20 bucks rather than pissing it away for something you will use with one item where you could just as easily plug it into a usb, you can easily do without.

 

If you don't want to buy it from Dell you can buy a $10 external USB dongle BT adapter from Newegg...I have one for my desktop. When I need it I just plug it into the side of my monitor. When I'm done, I pull it out.

 

Internet whenever you have cell signal + phone plan with no data = selling your kidney to cover your cell bill

 

$30 a month sprint sero plan. Unlimited evdo.

 

When I ordered my laptop on the 27-06 the bluetooth was a 60$ upgrade, not it is 20$. I'm pissed. dell.ca
I've also noticed that the 1.5ghz processor is now replaced with a 1.66 one for the same price!!. that sucks.

 

Up here in Canada it's more like $100/month for 250MB.

GG Canadian wireless companies.

I have a SE K790 that I use and although I was considering the BlueTooth add-on, I couldn't justify the $80CAD Dell Canada's charging for it. A quick look through Dell's notebook accessories shows bluetooth modules for $22-25. I figure I'll find one compatible there down the road if I find I really need it.

I mean the only thing I'd use it for is to transfer games, ringtones, photos, etc. Not terribly pressing.

 

Basiclly sumed it up... I will not buy a laptop without this option

Sprint +Palm 700WX = Broadband speed on your lappy.



-=-

 

Its worth it if you have a nintendo wii. The wii remotes use bluetooth and if you get the bluetooth option then you can use the hacked drivers to use wiimotes on your laptop.

 

That's pretty cool! Unfortunately, I don't see any practical uses for it (besides gaming -- but I don't game).

 

its worth it because if u ever get a bluetooth camera phone you can send and receive photos. or pictures or use ur phone as a modem. there is all kinds of stuff u can use. bluetooth is priceless when u know how to use it

 

i find bluetooth pointless, if i want to transfer files between my pc and phone i use usb, its alot faster than bluetooth
i don't have a phone plan with high speed mobile access nor can i think of a reason for me to get one. so no bluetooth for me on my vostro 1400.

 

I got it because I plan to use an external mouse and I don't want anything, and I mean anything to have to plug into my USB's unless I have no other choice possible. The number one problem I have heard with laptops is something happening to the USB ports and due to the way they are integrated you have to replace the entire mobo, very pricey. I have already purchased the Logitech V270 for use with my 1520.

 

My latest Canon printer also has built in bluetooth. Wireless printing is a nice bonus feature for me.

 

How good is that THL? I would like to get a bluetooth printer as I have heard the BT adapters for regular printers are horrid.

 

BT takes up incredibly little battery power on a laptop, especially when it's only polling and not actively connected to a peripheral like a wireless headset or mouse. You'll save more battery life by decreasing your screen brightness one notch.

I only got BT for the wireless mouse as well (I also didn't want to bother with a stupid USB dongle just to use a travel mouse), but now I'm also using it to sync my mobile phone, and as a wireless Edge/HSDPA tether from the phone. Who needs to pay $175 for a WWAN module and $50-100 a month for a wireless data-only account when you have a cell phone with $19 unlimited data plan with you all the time anyways?

 

Which is the difference between bluetooth and bluetooth 2.0. If both devices are bluetooth 2.0 there is a significant speed difference.

 

Well.. for EVDO people... it kinda sucks when you're talking on AIM/MSN and a phone call comes in. LOL...

 

Bluetooth 1.2 = 721 kbits/s
Bluetooth 2.0 = 2.1 Mbits/s
Bluetooth 3.0 = 480 Mbits/s (still being developed)

 

lol, yeah that would be funny, or watching a streaming video. Honestly I still would rather have the mini card that could go in my laptop if I can afford it. I was looking at Sprint's offerings tonight but with the area I live in, I would have a better solution, upgrade my wireless card to the A/G card as I live in Washtenaw county in MI. The county has made an agreement with a company called 20/20 communications to make the entire county wireless. The only thing is they are using wimax, i think, which uses 802.11A, not g, and some g in certain highly populated areas. But at home and school both have a G network running and that is 90% of the time where I am at.

 

Lucky! .... glad to see technology on the move.

 

If you want to check out details, http://wireless.ewashtenaw.org/
They offer a decent free service (86K I think, which isn't bad for just checkin email and stuff) and then a monthly plan for higher speed. Which isn't bad if you consider you could get rid of the home broadband then...

 

Nope ... doesn't sound bad at all. Beats having to bundle stuff with the cable/telco company.

I noticed though that some portions of the network utilizes the 5.7 GHz frequency and you will need a CPE if that is the case.

 

CPE? I thought that a 802.11A/g card would work? meaning, I don't know what a cpe is

 

That card will work for the 2.4 GHz portion of the network (which includes public places such as parks and stuff). The 5.7 GHz requires some sort of device that can handle that frequency. There is no 802.11a/b/g card that can handle the 5.7 GHz frequency... they can handle the 5.8 Ghz frequency tho.

 

hmm, well that sucks. I thought if I switched out my card I would get service on the A range, never even thought about the frequencies, didn't pay attention. Since both my school and home have G networks I guess that should be enough for me I guess . Maybe someday when the price of cell-BB comes down I might look into that. Although, I guess it would only cost me about $30 more then I pay now for it, so I dunno, might not be that bad. I just wonder what coverage is like with the cellular broadband.

 

I've been thinking about it as well... but I don't think I'm going to get a separate cell broadband card (or WWAN). I will just simply tether like I've done in the past. Now that my new notebook will support Bluetooth... it should be easier for me to tether (hopefully).

Maybe in the future when I have money to toss out the window... but for now... i'm gonna try to keep my expenses down.

 

You said you've done it in the past, who's network? and what kind of real world speeds were you pulling?