Most mobiles now come as standard with a Bluetooth capability, while it is commonly known that this can be used to connect to a headset or a car kit there are many uses of Bluetooth as a networking protocol. The Belkin Bluetooth PCMCIA card adds Bluetooth capability to any laptop with a spare slot, the standard 10 meter range is sufficient to connect to mobiles ,PDA's, headsets or other PC's and with a connection speed of up to 1mbit per second it is a good option for transferring data if not high quality audio or video.

The Belkin card is simple enough to install, the software supplied on CD loads the required drivers for win 98/2000/XP and sets up the Bluetooth network on your machine, from here the discreet card enables the "my Bluetooth places" browser to search for available BT enabled devices within range.

Through the windows interface you can then push objects such as pictures or audio tracks and ringtones to a connected mobile device, perhaps the most useful feature is the ability to synchronise office applications such as outlook with a mobile or PDA. Both Nokia and Sony Ericsson supply the software application to do this free of charge but the Belkin software contains a basic synchronisation tool which enables contents of the contacts database to be shared with the mobile.

The Belkin card performs well, it was easy to set-up but you must be aware that it will uninstall any other Bluetooth devices when it loads the Bluetooth stack supplied with the card, operation is very simple through a standard windows GUI, we found that the range is easily the stated 10 meters with only a little drop off fin connection speed at the extremities of the link.

The link created is protected with 128bit encryption so no real worries in terms of security especially as Bluetooth operates with a pairing system so only devices authorised to connect can do so, Belkin have also worked on power consumption so that running a Bluetooth Piconet from your laptop doesn't dent your batteries performance. No matter what your use for the Belkin card be it Bluejacking or downloading ringtones this card does what it says on the tin which is handy as Bluetooth finds its way into all types of household appliances from the fridge to the washing machine.

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