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View Full Version : Is Bluetooth worth it?



joeljkp
August 29th, 2005, 03:25 PM
I have a laptop (without Bluetooth) that I take back and forth to class and work and such. I have a wireless mouse, but it's one of the desktop models with the large wired base station. I have a little bit of money ($85) that I'm free to spend, and I'm thinking that maybe a Bluetooth PCMCIA card and a small Bluetooth mouse would be worth the money. I'm willing to spend a bit out of my pockets ($20 or so) if need be.

So those of you with Bluetooth already: is it worth it? Does it work well with Ubuntu? Do peripherals work as they should? Are there plenty of small notebook mice available?

ubuntu-geek
August 29th, 2005, 03:33 PM
For me bluetooth is worth it. I find it really nice to have a small compact mouse to use when I am not at home.

Ride Jib
August 29th, 2005, 04:55 PM
If I could figure a way to get Thunderbird to synchronize with my cell phone, it would be fantastic.

Brunellus
August 29th, 2005, 05:00 PM
I have a laptop (without Bluetooth) that I take back and forth to class and work and such. I have a wireless mouse, but it's one of the desktop models with the large wired base station. I have a little bit of money ($85) that I'm free to spend, and I'm thinking that maybe a Bluetooth PCMCIA card and a small Bluetooth mouse would be worth the money. I'm willing to spend a bit out of my pockets ($20 or so) if need be.

So those of you with Bluetooth already: is it worth it? Does it work well with Ubuntu? Do peripherals work as they should? Are there plenty of small notebook mice available?
bluetooth lets me transfer images to & from my camphone...so yes, it's worth it, considering that e-mailing 'em to myself would cost me..per BIT!!

miseryshining
August 30th, 2006, 09:36 AM
I'm using the inbuild bluetooth of my laptop with a small bluetooth mouse and it works great (although i usually have to reset the bluetooth connection on the laptop to get a reliable connection).

Transferring images.. is pretty slow using BT with my PocketPC (gnomevfs+synce).

samir85
August 30th, 2006, 11:03 AM
does bluetooth actually work with ubuntu ? :D

beercz
August 30th, 2006, 11:08 AM
does bluetooth actually work with ubuntu ? :D
Yes - I can download images from my phone to my laptop using its built-in bluetooth connection.

GeneralZod
August 30th, 2006, 12:46 PM
does bluetooth actually work with ubuntu ? :D

Absolutely - there is native (in-kernel) support for a fairly wide range of bluetooth devices, including those made by the notoriously OSS-unfriendly Broadcom, although these are not as well supported - for example, btsco (required for listening to sounds via bluetooth headsets) is not supported for Broadcom chips, although there is a small patch (which I think originated with Ubuntu) that corrects this, but is not yet mainline.

On the whole, I've found bluetooth support to be really, surprisingly hassle-free.

prizrak
August 30th, 2006, 02:11 PM
Bluetooth don't work for me (built-in). If you are looking at a small wireless mouse for a laptop you could get a regular RF mouse with a USB dongle. They are pretty small and out of your way not to mention quite a bit cheaper. The price premium is only worth it for BT if you are going to use it for more than just a mouse.

miseryshining
August 30th, 2006, 04:06 PM
Bluetooth don't work for me (built-in). If you are looking at a small wireless mouse for a laptop you could get a regular RF mouse with a USB dongle. They are pretty small and out of your way not to mention quite a bit cheaper. The price premium is only worth it for BT if you are going to use it for more than just a mouse.

ehh.. i bougt a bluetooth mouse including usb adapter + usb charger for 12 euros (in the Netherlands).. works fine here.

prizrak
August 30th, 2006, 05:53 PM
ehh.. i bougt a bluetooth mouse including usb adapter + usb charger for 12 euros (in the Netherlands).. works fine here.

Was it used? Also are you sure it's Bluetooth? I haven't seen cheapy BT mice here.

miseryshining
August 31st, 2006, 03:16 PM
Was it used? Also are you sure it's Bluetooth? I haven't seen cheapy BT mice here.

Yes, pretty sure ;). I was surprised too, since this is indeed very cheap, maybe they were dumping them. bt stuff is (finally) getting cheaper tho.