World's First Bluetooth Device ~ World's First Ones

Bluetooth logo

Many people think Sir Nicolas invented Bluetooth in the late 1990's. (Well, this is what most of the people think, but I am not sure about it !!)

Bluetooth is a short distance data transfer protocol which utilises a short-range radio link to exchange information, enabling effortless wireless connectivity between mobile phones, mobile PCs, handheld computers and other peripherals. It aims to replace the IrDA spec of InfraRed in mobile and computing devices.

Bluetooth is managed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which has more than 14,000 member companies in the areas of telecommunication, computing, networking, and consumer electronics

Bluetooth was developed by Ericsson, a large Swedish telecommunications equipment manufacturer. The specification was developed in 1994 by Jaap Haartsen and Sven Mattisson, who were working for Ericsson at the time.

Formalization of Standard
The standard was formalized by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group in May, 1998. The group was established by Ericsson, IBM, Toshiba, Nokia and Intel. There are more than 11,000 member companies of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.

Origin of Name
The word "Bluetooth" comes from the anglicized name of Harald I of Denmark and Norway. "Bluetooth" is derived from the Old Norse name "Blátönn" and the Danish name "Blåtand."

Origin of Logo
The logo is the combined German Runes of Harglass (which is the Latin equivalent of "H") and Berkanan (which is analogous to the Latin "B"). These letters represent the origin of the name Harald Bluetooth.

Version 1.X
Buletooth 1.0 was established in the early days of the product's standardization. As a result, many manufacturers' equipment did not work with other products. Bluetooth 1.1 and 1.2 fixed some of these interoperability problems.

Version 2.X
Bluetooth Version 2.0 was released in November 2004. Version 2.0 increased the speed of the Bluetooth protocol. It was backwards compatible with Bluetooth 1.1. In July 2007, Bluetooth 2.1 was released.

Version 3.0
Bluetooth Version 3.0 will increase data speed and reduce power consumption. As of April 2009, it has not yet been released.

Reference: who-invented-bluetooth-technology | eHow