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A Bluetooth printing kit introduced Monday by 3Com will let users hook up to existing local printers without using cables or getting on a LAN.

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless communication technology designed primarily as a replacement for cables and infrared links between devices. Bluetooth devices can communicate at speeds under 1 megabit per second at a range of up to about 30 feet.

Wireless Workgroups

The kit from 3Com includes a Bluetooth adapter that plugs into a printer's parallel port, and another Bluetooth adapter that plugs into a desktop or notebook PC through a USB connection, said Troy Holtby, a product manager at 3Com, in Santa Clara, California. The kit is shipping now for a list price of $250. Additional USB and PC Card Bluetooth adapters can be purchased for a list price of $149 each. Future kits may include other combinations of parallel-port, USB, and PC Card adapters, Holtby said.

With Bluetooth, users or workgroups with multiple printers can connect to all of them without moving wires, Holtby said. In an office, visiting employees could use a local printer without having to be set up as clients on a wired or wireless LAN, he added. Users can discover and connect to nearby Bluetooth devices easily through an intuitive interface, he said.

The software and firmware of the devices can be upgraded for the addition of new, downloadable features, according to a 3Com statement.

Cutting Other Cables

3Com has released several Bluetooth products, which compete with other wireless technologies. Its line includes the 3Com Wireless Bluetooth PC Card and 3Com Bluetooth USB Adapter. However, Intel markets both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless products, and contends the technologies have complementary roles for mobile computing.

The company differentiates Bluetooth as designed for quick bursts of low-bandwidth information in a cable replacement scenario. Wi-Fi is intended as a wireless LAN technology, to be used to transfer high-bandwidth files or for always-on Internet and network connectivity. According to Intel, Bluetooth is well-suited to enable small computing equipment such as notebooks, cell phones, and handhelds to transfer small amounts of data using a less expensive, smaller-footprint chipset and requiring significantly lower power.

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