Created on 27 March 2009
Before Bluetooth, mobile phones were just that – phones you could carry from place to place. Then in 2001 along came the Nokia 6310, the first Nokia handset with Bluetooth (v1.1) built in. Suddenly, mobiles became more than just a corporate status symbol. With Bluetooth, users could swap data: contact and calendar info at first but then grainy cameraphone snaps, ringtones, music, high res photos and eventually videos. Bluetooth also gave users the freedom to go completely hands-free, enabling them to navigate seamlessly through their life (and, crucially, drive a car) without interrupting their conversations. The business-friendly 6310 also boasted the latest digital features, such as voice-dialling, predictive text messaging, downloadable ringtones, a GPRS-powered WAP browser and a Filofax-busting 500-entry phonebook. A voice recorder enabled executives to record brief memos, and its slim lithium-ion battery offered a standby time of over two weeks.
You probably know that Bluetooth is named after the Danish king Harald Bluetooth, with its logo forming a ‘bind rune’ for the letters H and B. But did you know:
