Question about Bluetooth

[Don Coffey]

Hi all,

Can someone explain why BMW are able to say which phones are compatible with the Comms Pack Bluetooth.

Surely Bluetooth is Bluetooth and so all phones that are Bluetooth compatible should work with the Comms Pack.

Don

[Ajogu]

Turns out there are different bluetooth softwares. Not to sure about the details but I know thats why not all phones are compatible.

[ambishop]

Right. The Bluetooth spec was loosely written by Sony Ericsson. It consists of certain “profiles” DUN, OBEX, OPP, Headset Hands-free ect.

The BMW Bluetooth system like any other Bluetooth system tries to incorporate phone manufacturers interpretation of this spec and include them in their handsfree product.

To make things more complicated there are different ways to accomplish a similar task. For example OPP Object Push Profile is one way to send contacts, while OBEX Object Exchange is another way to send contacts. Then Headset Profile is one way to connect audio devices and Hands-free is the proper way to connect audio devices for telephone conversation.

The fundamental issue is that the spec is not rigid with specific requirements and formats. Because of this it is open to interpretation and modifications. If Sony Ericsson were smart they would have licensed the Bluetooth spec and provided the code for it to all function the same.

Martin
www.bimmernav.com