| Bluetooth can dramatically change the manner in which you use your Treo. For example, a Bluetooth hands-free car kit allows you to leave your device in a briefcase, purse, console, or glove box while carrying on a conversation wirelessly. You can receive a call through a hands-free car kit or make a call by speaking the name or number of the person you want to dial. Similarly, with a Bluetooth headset, you can use a separate wireless earpiece to carry on a conversation while your Treo is tucked safely away in a pocket. Thanks to the simplicity of Bluetooth technology, you can easily connect a Bluetooth headset or hands-free car kit to your device with minimal effort, and then repeatedly connect it from then on with no effort at all. This effectively makes a Bluetooth headset or hands-free car kit even easier to use than their wired counterparts. Just keep in mind that you'll need to charge a Bluetooth headset periodically, as it isn't capable of drawing power from your Treo, as a normal wired headset can. Follow these steps to establish a connection between your Treo and a Bluetooth headset: 1. | Before adding the headset to your Treo, you must first turn on the headset and enable it for being discovered by your device. This enabling process is unique to your particular headset. I use a Motorola HS820 headset, which requires me to hold down its multifunction (power) button for five seconds to be discoverable. When your headset is powered on and ready for discovery, you can proceed with adding the headset to your device. Note In 2004, Bluetooth started appearing as standard equipment in some automobiles, which means you can operate your Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone hands-free while the phone is still tucked away in your pocket or briefcase. Instead of using your phone's speaker, microphone, and controls, you use a set of built-in controls in the automobile. A few vehicle makes and models that were early adopters of Bluetooth include the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series, Lexus LS 430, Acura TL, and Toyota Prius. Numerous other vehicles are rapidly being added to the ranks of the Bluetooth compatible. | 2. | In the Bluetooth application, tap the Setup Devices button to set up the headset as a trusted Bluetooth device. Every Bluetooth device has a passkey, which is a short password similar to a PIN code used to gain access to the device; most headsets, however, are configured from the factory with a fixed passkey that you can't change. A trusted Bluetooth device is a device you set up so that you enter its passkey only once, and from then on you can quickly connect to it without having to enter the passkey. After tapping the Setup Devices button, the Setup Devices screen appears, as shown in Figure 11.2. Figure 11.2. The Setup Devices screen is where you begin setting up any Bluetooth device for use with your Treo.
| 3. | Tap the Hands-free Setup button to set up the headset. You then see a welcome window before your device begins looking for the headset. Just tap the Next button to continue. The Discovery Results screen appears, and your Treo begins looking for the headset (see Figure 11.3). Figure 11.3. The Discovery Results screen searches your immediate vicinity for any discoverable Bluetooth devices.
| 4. | It's important that the Show pick list near the top of the Discovery Results screen be set to Nearby Devices. Other options in the list include All Known Devices and Trusted Devices; All Known Devices lists all known Bluetooth devices, and Trusted Devices shows only those devices you've already set up as trusted. If your headset isn't found at first, tap the Find More button to try again. When the headset is found, it appears in the device list, as shown in Figure 11.3. Select the headset in the list and tap the OK button to connect to the headset. Before the connection can be established, you must enter the passkey for the headset in the Bluetooth Security screen (see Figure 11.4). Figure 11.4. The Bluetooth Security screen prompts you to enter the passkey for the Bluetooth headset, which is likely 0000.
Note Bluetooth 1.0 had several design flaws that made it difficult to implement reliably across a variety of devices and accessories. Consequently, Bluetooth 1.1 is generally considered the first stable version of Bluetooth in widespread use. | 5. | Every Bluetooth device has an associated passkey, which serves as a PIN code that's required to pair up with the device. For peripheral devices such as headsets that don't really have security implications, the passkey is typically just 0000. Enter the passkey for your headset in the Bluetooth Security screen and tap the OK button. You then see a confirmation that the connection between your Treo and headset has been established successfully. The headset is ready to use with your Treo. |
To try out the newly connected headset, launch the Phone application and call someone. Make sure to put the headset on so that you can hear the conversation. If a trusted Bluetooth headset is on and in range, it's automatically used when you make a call. You can immediately tell whether a Bluetooth headset is in use because a Cancel button appears on the main Phone screen that enables you to bypass the Bluetooth headset and use the standard Treo speaker/microphone instead (see Figure 11.5). Figure 11.5. If a Bluetooth headset is activated for a phone call, a Cancel button appears that enables you to cancel using the headset on the call.
Figure 11.5 reveals how the Spkr-phone button that normally appears is replaced by a Cancel button for disabling the Bluetooth headset. If you tap the Cancel button, the headset is ignored for that call, and your device reverts to using the standard built-in earpiece and microphone. The Spkr-phone button also reappears, allowing you to use the speakerphone feature if you want. Note Making your device discoverable can be both good and bad. On the good side, it makes it much easier to establish connections with other Bluetooth devices because your device is immediately "seen" when it gets in Bluetooth range and can be connected to. However, some security risks are associated with Bluetooth that might make you think twice about leaving the Bluetooth radio on all the time, especially in crowded areas where numerous other devices could be on the prowl. The "Assessing Bluetooth Security Issues" section later in this chapter explores Bluetooth security in detail. |