Belkin Bluetooth USB Adapters

We reviewed two adapters from Belkin with ranges of 10 mtrs and 100 mtrs respectively. The adapters are very easy to install. Just connect them to a free USB port of your system and install the software, and then configure it using a configuration wizard. On the security front, both the adapters support 128-bit WEP. The adapters allow you to connect to a maximum of seven other Bluetooth devices. They also provide a variety of Bluetooth-based services namely, Serial Port, Dial-up networking, Fax, Network access, PIM (Personal Information Manager) synchronization, PIM Item Transfer and File Transfer. PIM

synchronization/Transfer service is meant to synchronize with a PIM like MS Outlook or Notes. You can do this between a Bluetooth enabled PDA and a PC. We tested the adapters using the NetIQ Qcheck test. We connected a notebook and desktop using the two Belkin Bluetooth adapters. Bluetooth's network access service was used for connectivity. We managed to get a throughput, response time and streaming rate of 580 Kbps, 7 ms and 535 Kbps (streaming rate) for both adapters, which is slightly below the adapters' rated throughput. We also tested for the adapters' resistance to interference from a WiFi (802.11b) access point. In this case, the throughput reduces slightly to 513 Kbps.

The Bottom Line: Overall, given the performance of the two adapters, especially their resistance to interference, they're good buys.

Rupin Vij