Link : http://www.photo-facts.com/WP/archives/4493
Bluetooth in cameras
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology that’s already popular for
swapping files between mobile phones, for example, for cable-free
headsets and some computer peripherals, and now appears in a digital
camera – the Samsung ST1000.
Bluetooth uses radio waves, so there doesn’t have to be a direct line of sight
between the two devices. It isn’t compatible with or a replacement for the wi-fi
networks used by computers and for Internet access, but it’s still surprising that
camera makers have so far ignored it as a means for simple, cable-free transfer
between nearby devices.
But Samsung is the exception,
incorporating Bluetooth into its ST1000 compact camera (along with wi-fi and GPS).
What could be more natural than swapping photos with your friends? You can do it
with phones, so why not cameras?
Wireless communications are a bit of an unknown for most of us, especially those
who’ve struggled with complicated network detection and authentication processes
in the past. But Bluetooth communication protocols are well and truly sorted now, as
demonstrated by the mobile phone market.
So could it be that easy with cameras? And could you expect a camera to
communicate with a phone? Sure enough, during a quick test at the camera’s launch
event an ST1000 ‘discovered’, connected with and sent a photo to our Nokia 5310
without a hitch.
Technology doesn’t necessarily have to be cutting edge. The main thing is that (a)
it’s useful, (b) it’s simple and (c) it works! The ST1000 gets an award for achieving all
three.