Wireless 355 vs 350 Bluetooth

Awhile back, someone posted a question wondering about the difference between the 355 and 350 bluetooth. Unfortunately I can't find the thread. If someone finds it, could you please post it? Thank you.

But I was wondering if someone could tell me the difference between the two and would the 355 work on my 1705? The only difference I can see is $40.

355 for $19:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=430-1795

350 for $59:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=430-1676

 

I have the 355 in my M1210 and was told that that was the only one compatible. I was actually surprised it was only $20 when I expected to pay the full $60 plus shipping.

 

Well, that was definately a lie. When I ordered my 1210, the 355 was not widely available yet (June last year) so I ordered the only BT module available...the 350! Works great.

Except now that I have installed Vista, the chip won't install the XP drivers when I run XP. I get a flash error >.<

 

Here in Mexico I bought the 355 but the 350 wass available at the same price...

350 is bluetooth 1.1 think so.. or 1.0... which mean is slow..

355 is the newest bluetooth module and it supports Bluetooth 2.0 with higher transfer rates... and it has A2DP which means it can stream high quality stereo sound... Go for the 355.. don't know why it is cheaper.. but it certainly is better

 

I was actually wondering about the same thing. I was just looking into buying a bluetooth module for my inspiron 6400 and I stumbled across three seemingly similar cards (spec wise) but differ in about $40 CAN in price

Check the link (comparison):

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/pro...s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&p=430-1795~341-3510~430-1336~

The middle one (Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR) for Inspiron Customer Installed) seems to be a little different, it says:

"Specifications - Form Factor Internal Daughter Card with Integrated Antenna and USB Host Interface"
"Specifications - Connections 1 x USB "

I don't know what the mother daughter thing means, but it also says that it connects through usb, but when you check the customer reviews for this particular module you can tell that it's internal (which adds more to the confusion)


Does anyone know why the 355 is alot cheaper than the other two? and what is the difference between them? They all seem to have the same Enhanced Data Rate Speed (3 mbps) so why is there such a price difference?

 

Does anyone know an answer for this? anyone?

 

Well, I do know this:

the 350 is a 2.0 device. That's all I can tell you. If you look under it's tech specs, it's listed as 2.0 as well, not sure abour EDR though.

My bet: the 355 is cheaper because it is the common module now and the 350's are being kept around for compatibility with older laptop models. Thus the premium.

 

After web searching and talking to computer tech people, I was told that the real difference between the two is that the 350 has a bigger range than the 355. I have no way to confirm that though.

 

I had a one hour chat with one of the dell representatives about this, he said he'll call dell parts and check with them and kept me waiting for like 45 mins, then he came back to tell me that the dell 350 module is external, because it uses usb 2.0. This obviously doesn't make sense, and apparently that guy doesn't even know what bluetooth is...

gohanssjn, thats a good note, I still don't get what the 2.0 thing means... does it connect to a usb 2.0 port internally ? (inside the computer when you install it?) in which case it would make one of the usb ports on the laptop unusable?

drello, according to the dell website, they both have the same range. Even if what you say is true, is the range on the 350 much bigger that it's worth shlling an extra $40?

 

2.0 means that it accepts the bluetooth 2.0 protocall. 2.0 modules can talk to 2.0 and 1.0/1.1 devices, where as a 1.0 could only talk to 1.0 devices, and 1.1 could talk to 1.0/1.1.

It's basically just an upgraded communication set.

 

The 350 module is not external. Both the 350 and the 355 are removable internal modules. There should be an access cover on the underside of the computer. On my 9300 it is right next to the battery and is secured with a single screw. The connection is the same for both modules. The 350 was the initial offering when the 1705s first became available. The 355 module is the latest and greatest. Both modules connect to the computer through an internal USB connection. You do not lose any ports since this is a dedicated connection just for the BT module.

The diference between the 2 modules is the BT stack that is used. The 350 uses the Toshiba BT stack. The 355 uses the WIDCOMM BT stack. I haven't used the 355 myself, but I have used other products that use the WIDCOMM stack and I always preferred those to the Toshiba stack. The BT stack is the software that allows you to use BT. They are not interchangable, the stack is paired to the device. I.E. cannot use WIDCOMM stack on a 350 module (belive me I have tried).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Specifications_and_features

The picture on the right side of this link is an actual picture of the Dell 350 BT module.

 

From Dell's 350 Product Description

This Bluetooth® 2.0 compliant wireless device allows you to interact with other Bluetooth-compatible devices to transfer and print files, connect to the Internet, and listen to music – all without having to use physical cables. With Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) capability, the Wireless™ 350 offers data transfer rates of up to 3 Mbps so you can transfer files with ease.

And Vista and XP both tell me that my 350 is running the 2.0 standard.

Where did you see that the 350 is 1.2 out of curiousity?

I do agree to go with 355 though, just curious as to why we have conflicting information. Thanks!

 

My bad. And I have edited my other post with the correct informaion now.