Add a Bluetooth text protocol to J2ME apps

With the continuing boom of mobile devices in the communications and gaming industries, as well as the software trend toward ad hoc and peer-to-peer networks, the ability to target heterogeneous devices for networked applications (whether gaming, productivity, or information sharing) is a big advantage. In this article, learn how to use and integrate the Bluetooth API (which was introduced into Java™ 2 Platform, Micro Edition [J2ME] through JSR 82) into your own applications. Here, you'll find a complete Bluetooth device discovery, pairing, and messaging implementation.

As innovation continues to expand in the mobile device field, and as companies integrate chips into more consumer devices (those not traditionally associated with computing), the opportunities to tie these devices together to create smart environments are increasing. In this article, see how a package based on the Bluetooth Java APIs lets these devices trade arbitrary text-based messages, and presents a simple, useful API to the client program.

Why Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is a maturing technology targeted at building personal area networks (PANs) and connecting devices with relatively low bitrate requirements cheaply and without wires. Bluetooth is available in multiple flavors (or classes) with varying power requirements (and proportionally varying range). These attributes make it ideal both for ad hoc peer-to-peer networking between mobile devices and for networking between static devices, such as living-room consumer electronics.

What can you do with PANs?

PANs solve different problems from LANs, WANs, and the Worldwide Web; PANs' problems are often driven by convenience. Perhaps the technology's most attractive uses are wireless mobile phone headsets and keyless car entry systems. Neither of these solutions require Bluetooth or any other wireless technology, but by providing a cost-effective solution that makes the standard of living just that much higher, you can forge new markets.