What is it?

Think of it as a wire replacement. Instead of connecting devices by wires to transfer information there are technologies that now allow devices to communicate wirelessly - one of those technologoes is called Bluetooth™ .

Do I need Bluetooth on my phone?

That really depends on what you use your phone for but here are a couple of examples of what you can do if you had a phone with Bluetooth™ .

Transfer content to another phone that has Bluetooth™

Imagine that you want your friend to have a song, picture or ring tone that’s on your phone. You could send them as a multimedia text message but you would be paying for the cost of the text message and the files could possibly be too big to send. Using Bluetooth™ you can send a file of any size and because you're using an inbuilt phone feature instead of your network to send it. There is no cost, that's right it's FREE.

Using headphones or car kits with your phone via Bluetooth™

There are a number of mobile accessories that now use Bluetooth™ to connect to your mobile instead of wires. You can use a set of Bluetooth™ headphones to connect to and listen to music on your phone or use a Bluetooth™ car kit to make and receive calls. Some cars are now being built with Bluetooth™ installed so that you have a simple hands-free option to use with any compatible phone.

Make sure that the two devices are within communicating range, let's say a maximum of 10 metres.

Go into your phone menu, find the Bluetooth™ option and make sure Bluetooth™ is turned on - make sure the other device has Bluetooth™ turned on as well.

In that same Bluetooth™ menu on your phone there will be an option showing you 'Your Devices' - there will be an option to add a new device by searching the area around you. Start a search.

The search results will show all Bluetooth™ devices turned on in your vicinity and their names - either the device's model number or a name chosen by the owner.

Select the device you want to connect to phone, car kit, headset, etc. If it's another phone you might be asked to enter a PIN - this is for security purposes. Whatever PIN you enter must then also be entered by the other device to confirm their acceptance of the connection.

You are now 'paired' with another device which means you are now ready to communicate wirelessly with that device!