Bluetooth Basics
Bluetooth wireless technology is a short-range communications technology intended to replace the cables connecting portable and/or fixed devices while maintaining high levels of security. The key features of Bluetooth technology are robustness, low power, and low cost. The Bluetooth specification defines a uniform structure for a wide range of devices to connect and communicate with each other.
Bluetooth technology has achieved global acceptance such that any Bluetooth enabled device, almost everywhere in the world, can connect to other Bluetooth enabled devices in proximity. Bluetooth enabled electronic devices connect and communicate wirelessly through short-range, ad hoc networks known as piconets. Each device can simultaneously communicate with up to seven other devices within a single piconet. Each device can also belong to several piconets simultaneously. Piconets are established dynamically and automatically as Bluetooth enabled devices enter and leave radio proximity.
A fundamental Bluetooth wireless technology strength is the ability to simultaneously handle both data and voice transmissions. This enables users to enjoy variety of innovative solutions such as a hands-free headset for voice calls, printing and fax capabilities, and synchronizing PDA, laptop, and mobile phone applications to name a few.
Core Specification Versions
· Version 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), adopted November, 2004
· Version 1.2, adopted November, 2003
Specification Make-Up
Unlike many other wireless standards, the Bluetooth wireless specification gives product developers both link layer and application layer definitions, which supports data and voice applications
Spectrum
Bluetooth technology operates in the unlicensed industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band at 2.4 to 2.485 GHz, using a spread spectrum, frequency hopping, full-duplex signal at a nominal rate of 1600 hops/sec. The 2.4 GHz ISM band is available and unlicensed in most countries
Interference
Bluetooth technology’s adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) capability was designed to reduce interference between wireless technologies sharing the 2.4 GHz spectrum. AFH works within the spectrum to take advantage of the available frequency. This is done by detecting other devices in the spectrum and avoiding the frequencies they are using. This adaptive hopping allows for more efficient transmission within the spectrum, providing users with greater performance even if using other technologies along with Bluetooth technology. The signal hops among 79 frequencies at 1 MHz intervals to give a high degree of interference immunity
Range
The operating range depends on the device class:
· Class 3 radios – have a range of up to 1 meter or 3 feet
· Class 2 radios – most commonly found in mobile devices – have a range of 10 meters or 30 feet
· Class 1 radios – used primarily in industrial use cases – have a range of 100 meters or 300 feet
Power
The most commonly used radio is Class 2 and uses 2.5 mW of power. Bluetooth technology is designed to have very low power consumption. This is reinforced in the specification by allowing radios to be powered down when inactive
Data Rate
1 Mbps for Version 1.2; Up to 3 Mbps supported for Version 2.0 + EDR

Bluetooth Technology Benefits
Why Choose Bluetooth wireless technology?
Bluetooth wireless technology is the simple choice for convenient, wire-free, short-range communication between devices. It is a globally available standard that wirelessly connects mobile phones, portable computers, cars, stereo headsets, MP3 players, and more. Thanks to the unique concept of “profiles,” Bluetooth enabled products do not need to install driver software. The technology is now available in its fourth version of the specification and continues to develop, building on its inherent strengths — small-form factor radio, low power, low cost, built-in security, robustness, ease-of-use, and ad hoc networking abilities. Bluetooth wireless technology is the leading and only proven short-range wireless technology on the market today shipping over five million units every week with an installed base of over 500 million units at the end of 2005.
Globally Available
The Bluetooth wireless technology specification is available free-of-charge to our member companies around the globe. Manufacturers from many industries are busy implementing the technology in their products to reduce the clutter of wires, make seamless connections, stream stereo audio, transfer data or carry voice communications. Bluetooth technology operates in the 2.4 GHz, one of the unlicensed industrial, scientific, medical (ISM) radio bands. As such, there is no cost for the use of Bluetooth technology. While you must subscribe to a cellular provider to use GSM or CDMA, with Bluetooth technology there is no cost associated with the use beyond the cost of your device.
Range of Devices
Bluetooth technology is available in an unprecedented range of applications from mobile phones to automobiles to medical devices for use by consumers, industrial markets, enterprises, and more. The low power consumption, small size and low cost of the chipset solution enables Bluetooth technology to be used in the tiniest of devices. Have a look at the wide range products made available by our members in the Bluetooth product directory and the component product listing.
Ease of Use
Bluetooth technology is an ad hoc technology that requires no fixed infrastructure and is simple to install and set up. You don’t need wires to get connected. The process for a new user is easy – you get a Bluetooth branded product, check the profiles available and connect it to another Bluetooth device with the same profiles. The subsequent PIN code process is as easy as when you identify yourself at the ATM machine. When out-and-about, you carry your personal area network (PAN) with you and can even connect to others.
Globally Accepted Specification
Bluetooth wireless technology is the most widely supported, versatile, and secure wireless standard on the market today. The globally available qualification program tests member products as to their accordance with the standard. Since the first release of the Bluetooth specification in 1999, over 4000 companies have become members in the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). Meanwhile, the number of Bluetooth products on the market is multiplying rapidly. Volumes have doubled for the fourth consecutive year and are likely to reach an installed base of 500 million units by the close of 2005.
Secure Connections
From the start, Bluetooth technology was designed with security needs in mind. Since it is globally available in the open 2.4 GHz ISM band, robustness was built in from the beginning. With adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), the signal “hops” and thus limits interference from other signals. Further, Bluetooth technology has built-in security such as 128bit encryption and PIN code authentication. When Bluetooth products identify themselves, they use the PIN code the first time they connect. Once connected, always securely connected.
How Bluetooth Technology Works
Bluetooth wireless technology is a short-range communications system intended to replace the cables connecting portable and/or fixed electronic devices. The key features of Bluetooth wireless technology are robustness, low power, and low cost. Many features of the core specification are optional, allowing product differentiation.
The Bluetooth core system consists of an RF transceiver, baseband, and protocol stack. The system offers services that enable the connection of devices and the exchange of a variety of data classes between these devices.
Overview of Operation
The Bluetooth RF (physical layer) operates in the unlicensed ISM band at 2.4GHz. The system employs a frequency hop transceiver to combat interference and fading, and provides many FHSS carriers. RF operation uses a shaped, binary frequency modulation to minimize transceiver complexity. The symbol
rate is 1 Megasymbol per second (Msps) supporting the bit rate of 1 Megabit per second (Mbps) or, with Enhanced Data Rate, a gross air bit rate of 2 or 3Mb/s. These modes are known as Basic Rate and Enhanced Data Rate respectively.
During typical operation, a physical radio channel is shared by a group of devices that are synchronized to a common clock and frequency hopping pattern. One device provides the synchronization reference and is known as the master. All other devices are known as slaves. A group of devices synchronized in this fashion form a piconet. This is the fundamental form of communication for Bluetooth wireless technology.
Devices in a piconet use a specific frequency hopping pattern which is algorithmically determined by certain fields in the Bluetooth specification address and clock of the master. The basic hopping pattern is a pseudo-random ordering of the 79 frequencies in the ISM band. The hopping pattern may be adapted to exclude a portion of the frequencies that are used by interfering devices. The adaptive hopping technique improves Bluetooth technology co-existence with static (non-hopping) ISM systems when these are co-located.
The physical channel is sub-divided into time units known as slots. Data is transmitted between Bluetooth enabled devices in packets that are positioned in these slots. When circumstances permit, a number of consecutive slots may be allocated to a single packet. Frequency hopping takes place between the transmission or reception of packets. Bluetooth technology provides the effect of full duplex transmission through the use of a time-division duplex (TDD) scheme.
Above the physical channel there is a layering of links and channels and associated control protocols. The hierarchy of channels and links from the physical channel upwards is physical channel, physical link, logical transport, logical link and L2CAP channel.
Within a physical channel, a physical link is formed between any two devices that transmit packets in either direction between them. In a piconet physical channel there are restrictions on which devices may form a physical link. There is a physical link between each slave and the master. Physical links are not formed directly between the slaves in a piconet.
The physical link is used as a transport for one or more logical links that support unicast synchronous, asynchronous and isochronous traffic, and broadcast traffic. Traffic on logical links is multiplexed onto the physical link by occupying slots assigned by a scheduling function in the resource manager.
A control protocol for the baseband and physical layers is carried over logical links in addition to user data. This is the link manager protocol (LMP). Devices that are active in a piconet have a default asynchronous connection-oriented logical transport that is used to transport the LMP protocol signaling. For historical reasons this is known as the ACL logical transport. The default ACL logical transport is the one that is created whenever a device joins a piconet. Additional logical transports may be created to transport synchronous data streams when this is required.
The link manager function uses LMP to control the operation of devices in the piconet and provide services to manage the lower architectural layers (radio layer and baseband layer). The LMP protocol is only carried on the default ACL logical transport and the default broadcast logical transport.
Above the baseband layer the L2CAP layer provides a channel-based abstraction to applications and services. It carries out segmentation and reassembly of application data and multiplexing and de-multiplexing of multiple channels over a shared logical link. L2CAP has a protocol control channel that is carried over the default ACL logical transport. Application data submitted to the L2CAP protocol may be carried on any logical link that supports the L2CAP protocol.

Security
Today's wireless world means that data is being sent, among us, invisibly from device to device, country to country, person to person. This data, in the form of e-mails, photos, contacts and addresses are precious and private to each of us. This private information, no longer making its way along wires in plain sight, needs to be sent securely to its intended recipient without interception. Wireless standards the world over are evolving and have various formats for dealing with the security issues of its users. Bluetooth wireless technology is no exception.
Bluetooth wireless technology has, from its inception, put great emphasis on wireless security so that users of this global standard can feel secure while making their connections. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), made up of over 4000 member manufacturers, has a Bluetooth security experts group made up of engineers from its member companies who provide critical security information and feedback that is taken into account as the Bluetooth wireless specification evolves..
Product developers that use Bluetooth wireless technology in their products have several options for implementing security. There are three modes of security for Bluetooth access between two devices..
Security Mode 1: non-secure
Security Mode 2: service level enforced security
Security Mode 3: link level enforced security.
The manufacturer of each product determines these security modes. Devices and services also have different security levels. For devices, there are two levels: "trusted device" and "untrusted device." A trusted device, having been paired with one's other device, has unrestricted access to all services.With regard to services, three security levels are defined: services that require authorization and authentication, services that require authentication only and services that are open to all devices..
Lately, confusion and misinformation surrounding security and Bluetooth wireless technology has increased. The current security issues typically involve mobile phones. How these issues apply to other classes of devices is important and is often not addressed. The encryption algorithm in the Bluetooth specifications is secure. This includes devices such as mice and keyboards connecting to a PC, a mobile phone synchronizing with a PC, and a PDA using a mobile phone as a modem to name just a few of the many use cases..
Cases where data has been compromised on mobile phones are the result of implementation issues on that platform. The Bluetooth SIG diligently works with our members to investigate any issues that are reported to understand the root cause of the issue. If it is a specification issue, we work with the membership to get patches out and ensure future devices don't suffer from the same vulnerability. This is an on-going process. The recently reported issues of advanced "hackers" gaining access to information stored on select mobile phones using Bluetooth functionality are due to incorrect implementation. The names bluesnarfing and bluebugging have been given to these methods of illegal and improper access to information. The questions and answers below provide users with more information about these current issues and will address their concerns for dealing with these security risks..
What is bluejacking?
Bluejacking allows phone users to send business cards anonymously using Bluetooth wireless technology. Bluejacking does NOT involve the removal or alteration of any data from the device. These business cards often have a clever or flirtatious message rather than the typical name and phone number. Bluejackers often look for the receiving phone to ping or the user to react. They then send another, more personal message to that device. Once again, in order to carry out a bluejacking, the sending and receiving devices must be within 10 meters of one another. Phone owners who receive bluejack messages should refuse to add the contacts to their address book. Devices that are set in non-discoverable mode are not susceptible to bluejacking.
What is bluebugging?
Bluebugging allows skilled individuals to access the mobile phone commands using Bluetooth wireless technology without notifying or alerting the phone’s user. This vulnerability allows the hacker to initiate phone calls, send and receive text messages, read and write phonebook contacts, eavesdrop on phone conversations, and connect to the Internet. As with all the attacks, without specialized equipment, the hacker must be within a 10 meter range of the phone. This is a separate vulnerability from bluesnarfing and does not affect all of the same phones as bluesnarfing.
What is bluesnarfing?
Bluesnarfing allows hackers to gain access to data stored on a Bluetooth enabled phone using Bluetooth wireless technology without alerting the phone’s user of the connection made to the device. The information that can be accessed in this manner includes the phonebook and associated images, calendar, and IMEI (international mobile equipment identity). By setting the device in non-discoverable, it becomes significantly more difficult to find and attack the device. Without specialized equipment the hacker must be within a 10 meter range of the device while running a device with specialized software. Only specific older Bluetooth enabled phones are susceptible to bluesnarfing.
What are phone manufacturers doing to address the situation?
Both Nokia and Sony Ericsson have developed software upgrades for phones vulnerable to bluesnarfing and bluebugging. Both companies have also worked hard to make sure new phones coming to market will not be susceptible to these attacks. For more information on how users can obtain applicable software upgrades for their phones, visit the websites of Sony Ericsson and Nokia.
What is Car Whisperer?
The car whisperer is a software tool developed by security researchers to connect to and send or receive audio to and from Bluetooth car-kits with a specific implementation. An individual using the tool could potentially remotely connect to and communicate with a car from an unauthorized remote device, sending audio to the speakers and receiving audio from the microphone in the remote device. Without specialized equipment, someone using the tool must be within a 10 meter range of the targeted car while running a laptop with the car whisperer tool. The security researchers’ goal was to highlight an implementation weakness in a select number of Bluetooth enabled car-kits and pressure manufacturers to better secure Bluetooth enabled devices.
How can I tell if my car kit or car is vulnerable to the car whisperer?
To be accessed by the car whisperer tool, the car-kit needs to be continuously in pairing mode, have a standard fixed four digit PIN code and not be connected to a phone. If a user consistently has a phone paired with the car kit, an unauthorized device cannot connect to the car kit. Concerned individuals, whose car kits are continuously in pairing mode and have a standard fixed four digit PIN code (i.e. 0000 or 1234), should contact the manufacturer directly for more information on the vulnerability of their devices and to obtain applicable software upgrades for their car-kits.
Is Bluetooth wireless technology susceptible to hackers in other ways?
Currently, the attacks listed on this page are the only known possibilities for hacking into a limited amount of products on the market, if appropriate measures are taken such as having security turned on and using reasonably long PIN codes or pairing devices in private. The Bluetooth SIG continues to study security risks associated with the technology and determine their viability as the technology spreads and develops.
What can consumers do to protect their data?
Consumers can do a number of things to protect their data. If users have a phone that is vulnerable to bluesnarfing or bluebugging, they should contact the phone's manufacturer or take the phone to a manufacturer authorized service point. The manufacturers of the vulnerable devices have developed software patches to fix the vulnerability. In addition, if users are still concerned about a device being targeted, they can turn the device to non-discoverable mode when not using Bluetooth wireless technology and in unknown areas. Users can also ensure their data is secure by not "pairing" with unknown devices. If a user were to receive an invitation to pair with another device, and asked to put in a PIN code, but was unsure of what device was inviting to pair, the user should not pair. Only pair with known devices.
What is the cabir worm? Which devices does the cabir worm affect?
The cabir worm is malicious software, also known as malware. When installed on a phone, it uses Bluetooth technology to send itself to other similarly vulnerable devices. Due to this self-replicating behavior, it is classified as a worm. The cabir worm currently only affects mobile phones that use the Symbian series 60 user interface platform and feature Bluetooth wireless technology. Furthermore, the user has to manually accept the worm and install the malware in order to infect the phone. More information on the cabir worm is available from the software licensing company Symbian and on the websites of F-Secure, McAfee and Symantec.
How does a PIN affect security?
The personal identification number (PIN) is a four or more digit alphanumeric code that is temporarily associated with one's products for the purposes of a one time secure pairing. It is recommended that users employ at minimum an eight character or more alphanumeric PIN when possible. Product owners must share that PIN number only with trusted individuals and trusted products for pairing. Without this PIN number, pairing cannot occur. It is always advisable to pair products in areas with relative privacy. Avoid pairing your Bluetooth enabled devices in public. If, for some reason, your devices become unpaired, wait until you are in a secure, private location before repairing your devices.
Do I need to remember my PIN?
No. It is not necessary to remember your PIN except in the seldom situation when the PIN is a fixed PIN - in which case simply retaining the user manual, with given PIN, for future reference is advisable.
Why does pairing in a public location potentially introduce a security risk?
Theoretically a hacker can monitor and record activities in the frequency spectrum and then use a computer to regenerate the PIN codes being exchanged. This requires specially built hardware and thorough knowledge of Bluetooth systems. By using a PIN code with eight or more alphanumeric characters it would take the hacker years to discover the PIN. By using a four digit numeric PIN code, the hacker could discover the PIN in a matter of a few hours. Still advanced software is required.
Is this a real risk to Bluetooth enabled devices?
Bluetooth devices generate a secure connection by means of the initial pairing process. During this process one or both devices need a PIN code to be entered, which is used by internal algorithms to generate a secure key, which is then used to authenticate the devices whenever they connect in the future.
A new academic paper puts forward a theoretical process that could potentially "guess" the security settings on a pair of Bluetooth devices. To do this the attacking device would need to listen in to the initial one-time pairing process. From this point it can use an algorithm to guess the security key and masquerade as the other Bluetooth device. What is new in this paper is an approach that forces a new pairing sequence to be conducted between the two devices and an improved method of performing the guessing process, which brings the time down significantly from previous attacks.
To perform this hack, it is necessary for the attacker to overhear the initial pairing process, which normally only happens once in a private environment and takes a fraction of a second. The authors have put forward some possible methods to try and force a deletion of the security key in one of the two Bluetooth devices, and hence initiate a new pairing process, which they could then listen in to. To do this, they need to masquerade as the second device during a connection. The equipment needed for this process is very expensive and usually used by developers only. If this process succeeds the user will see a message on their device that asks them to re-enter a PIN code. If they do this while the attacker is present, and the PIN code they enter is sufficiently short, then the attack could theoretically succeed.
If the PIN key that has been used consists of only four numeric characters, a fast PC can calculate the security key in less than one tenth of a second. As the PIN key gets longer, the time to crack the security code gets longer and longer. At eight alphanumeric characters it could take over one hundred years to calculate the PIN making this crack nearly impossible.
This is an academic analysis of Bluetooth security. What this analysis outlines is possible, but it is highly unlikely for a normal user to ever encounter such an attack. The attack also relies on a degree of user gullibility, so understanding the Bluetooth pairing process is an important defense.
Can the SIG guarantee me that all of my future Bluetooth products will be secure?
Absolute security can never be totally guaranteed - in technology or otherwise. Security is an ongoing and important effort for any technology. The Bluetooth SIG has made security a high priority from day one with security algorithms that to date have proven adequate. In the roadmap for the advancement of Bluetooth wireless technology, the Bluetooth SIG published security and privacy enhancements. These enhancements to the specification further strengthen the pairing process and ensure privacy after a connection is established. We are continuing with our work in this area, trying to always stay a step ahead of people trying to hack into devices.
What is denial of service (DoS)?
The well known denial of service (DoS) attack, which has been most popular for attacking internet web sites and networks, is now an option for hackers of Bluetooth wireless technology enabled devices. This nuisance is neither original nor ingenious and is, very simply, a constant request for response from a hacker’s Bluetooth enabled computer (with specific software) to another Bluetooth enabled device such that it causes some temporary battery degradation in the receiving device. While occupying the Bluetooth link with invalid communication requests, the hacker can temporarily disable the product’s Bluetooth services.
Can a hacker get access to my devices data or content with DoS?
The DoS attack only offers the hacker the satisfaction of temporary annoyance, but does not allow for access to the device’s data or services – no information residing on the receiving device can be used or stolen by the attacker.
What devices are vulnerable to attacks, and what is the Bluetooth SIG doing about it?
DoS attacks can be performed on any discoverable Bluetooth enabled device but in some cases, advanced hackers can determine the address of a non-discoverable Bluetooth device. The Bluetooth SIG takes all security issues seriously, and we constantly work to make the specification more secure. Therefore, future Bluetooth core specifications are planned to include features that will make it impossible to penetrate non-discoverable devices. There are also ways for manufacturers to reduce the risk of DoS attacks at the implementation level of Bluetooth wireless technology.
What is the risk of being on the receiving end of a DoS attack?
To date, DoS attacks on Bluetooth devices have only been conducted in laboratory tests. The risk of an attempted DoS attack should be considered minimal given the requirements and the normally short range of Bluetooth wireless technology.

Glossary
Ad Hoc Network
A network typically created in a spontaneous manner. An ad hoc network requires no formal infrastructure and is limited in temporal and spatial extent.
Active Slave Broadcast (ASB)
The ASB logical transport is used to transport L2CAP user traffic to all active devices in the piconet.
Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
The A2DP profile describes how stereo quality audio can be streamed from a media source to a sink. The profile defines two roles of an audio source and sink. A typical usage scenario can be considered as the “walkman” class of media player. The audio source would be the music player and the audio sink is the wireless headset. A2DP defines the protocols and procedures that realize distribution of audio content of high-quality in mono or stereo on ACL channels.
Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP)
AVRCP is designed to provide a standard interface to control TVs, Hi-fi equipment, etc. This profile is used to allow a single remote control (or other device) to control all the A/V equipment that a user has access to. AVRCP defines how to control characteristics of streaming media. This includes pausing, stopping, and starting playback and volume control as well as other types of remote control operations.
Beacon Train
A pattern of reserved slots within a basic or adapted piconet physical channel. Transmissions starting in these slots are used to resynchronize parked devices.
Basic Imaging Profile (BIP)
BIP defines how an imaging device can be remotely controlled, how an imaging device may print, as well as how an imaging device can transfer images to a storage device. A typical scenario involves a mobile phone being used to control the shutter operation of a digital camera.
Basic Printing Profile (BPP)
BPP allows devices to send text, e-mails, vCards, images or other items to printers based on print jobs. It differs from HCRP in that it needs no printer-specific drivers. This makes it more suitable for embedded devices such as mobile phones and digital cameras, which cannot easily be updated with drivers dependent upon printer vendors.
Bluetooth wireless technology
Bluetooth wireless technology is a wireless communication link, operating in the unlicensed ISM band at 2.4 GHz using a frequency hopping transceiver. It allows real-time AV and data communications between Bluetooth enabled hosts. The link protocol is based on time slots.
Bluetooth Baseband
The part of the Bluetooth system that specifies or implements the medium access and physical layer procedures to support the exchange of real-time voice, data information streams, and ad hoc networking between Bluetooth enabled devices.
Bluetooth Clock
A 28 bit clock internal to a Bluetooth controller sub-system that ticks every 312.5 ms. The value of this clock defines the slot numbering and timing in the various physical channels.
Bluetooth Controller
A sub-system containing the Bluetooth RF, baseband, resource controller, link manager, device manager and a Bluetooth HCI.
Bluetooth Enabled Device
A Bluetooth enabled device is a device that is capable of short-range wireless communications using the Bluetooth system.
Bluetooth Device Address
A 48 bit address used to identify each Bluetooth enabled device. Often this is referred to in technical specifications as BD_ADDR.
BD_ADDR
The Bluetooth device address, BD_ADDR, is used to identify a Bluetooth enabled device.
Bluetooth HCI
The Bluetooth HCI provides a command interface to the baseband controller and link manager and access to hardware status and control registers. This interface provides a uniform method of accessing the Bluetooth baseband capabilities.
Bluetooth Host
A Bluetooth Host is a computing device, peripheral, cellular telephone, access point to PSTN network or LAN, etc. A Bluetooth Host attached to a Bluetooth Controller may communicate with other Bluetooth Hosts attached to their Bluetooth Controllers as well.
Bluetooth Profiles
Bluetooth profiles are general behaviors through which Bluetooth enabled devices communicate with other devices. Bluetooth technology defines a wide range of profiles that describe many different types of use cases. In order to use Bluetooth technology, a device must be able to interpret certain Bluetooth profiles. The profiles define the possible applications.
Channel
Either a physical channel or an L2CAP channel, depending on the context.
Connect (to service)
The establishment of a connection to a service. If not already done, this also includes establishment of a physical link, logical transport, logical link and L2CAP channel.
Connectable device
A Bluetooth enabled device in range that periodically listens on its page scan physical channel and will respond to a page on that channel.
Connecting
A phase in the communication between devices when a connection between them is being established. (Connecting phase follows after the link establishment phase is completed.)
Connection
A connection between two peer applications or higher layer protocols mapped onto an L2CAP channel.
Connection Establishment
A procedure for creating a connection mapped onto a channel.
Cordless Telephony Profile (CTP)
The CTP defines how a cordless phone can be implemented over a Bluetooth wireless link. This profile can be used for either a dedicated cordless phone or a mobile phone that acts as a cordless phone when in proximity to a base station implementing the CTP. It is anticipated that mobile phones could use a Bluetooth CTP gateway connected to a landline when within the home, and the mobile phone network when out of range.
Coverage Area
The area where two Bluetooth enabled devices can exchange messages with acceptable quality and performance.
Creation of a Secure Connection
A procedure of establishing a connection, including authentication and encryption.
Creation of a Trusted Relationship
A procedure where the remote device is marked as a trusted device. This includes storing a common link key for future authentication and pairing (if the link key is not available).
Device Discovery
A procedure for retrieving the Bluetooth device address, clock, class-of-device field and used page scan mode from discoverable devices.
Dial-up Networking Profile (DUN)
DUN provides a standard to access the Internet and other dial-up services over Bluetooth wireless technology. The most common scenario is accessing the Internet from a laptop by dialing up on a mobile phone, wirelessly.
Discoverable Device
A Bluetooth enabled device in range that periodically listens on an inquiry scan physical channel and will respond to an inquiry on that channel. Discoverable device are normally also connectable.
Encryption
Method of encoding data to prevent others from being able to interpret the information.
Extended Service Discovery Profile (ESDP)
ESDP defines how universal plug and play runs over a Bluetooth wireless connection.
Fax Profile (FAX)
The FAX profile defines how a FAX gateway device can be used by a terminal device. FAX is intended to provide a well-defined interface between a mobile phone or fixed-line phone and a PC with FAX software installed. A typical configuration is a personal computer using a mobile phone as a FAX gateway to send a FAX transmission to an arbitrary recipient.
File Transfer Profile (FTP)
FTP defines how folders and files on a server device can be browsed by a client device. Once a file or location is found by the client, a file can be pulled from the server to the client, or pushed from the client to the server using GOEP.
General Audio/Video Distribution Profile (GAVDP)
GAVDP provides the basis for A2DP and VDP, the basis of the systems designed for distributing video and audio streams using Bluetooth wireless technology. In a typical usage scenario, a device such as a “walkman” is used as the initiator and a headset is used as the acceptor.
Generic Access Profile (GAP)
GAP provides the basis for all other profiles and defines a consistent means to establish a baseband link between Bluetooth enabled devices. The profile defines operations that are generic and can be used by profiles referring to GAP and by devices implementing multiple profiles. GAP ensures that any two Bluetooth enabled devices, regardless of manufacturer and application, can exchange information via Bluetooth in order to discover what type of applications the devices support. Bluetooth enabled devices not conforming to any other Bluetooth profile must conform to GAP to ensure basic interoperability and co-existence.
Generic Object Exchange Profile (GOEP)
GOEP is used to transfer an object from one device to another. The object may be any object such as a picture, document, business card, etc. The profile defines two roles, a server that provides the location form which an object is pulled or pushed, as well as a client that initiates the action. GOEP provides a generic blueprint for other profiles using the OBEX protocol .
Hands-Free Profile (HFP)
HFP describes how a gateway device can be used to place and receive calls for a hand-free device. A typical configuration is an automobile using a mobile phone for a gateway device. In the car, the stereo is used for the phone audio and a microphone is installed in the car for sending outgoing audio of the conversation. HFP is also used for a personal computer to act as a speakerphone for a mobile phone in a home or office environment.
Hard Copy Cable Replacement Profile (HCRP)
HCRP defines how driver-based printing is accomplished over a Bluetooth wireless link. The profile defines a client and a server role. The client is a device containing a print driver for the server on which the client wishes to print. A common configuration is a client personal computer printing using a driver to a printer acting as a server. This provides a simple wireless alternative to a cable connection between a device and a printer. HCRP does not set a standard regarding the actual communications to the printer, so drivers are required specific to the printer model or range.
Headset Profile (HSP)
The HSP describes how a Bluetooth enabled headset should communicate with a computer or other Bluetooth enabled device such as a mobile phone. When connected and configured, the headset can act as the remote device’s audio input and output interface.
Human Interface Device Profile (HID)
The HID profile defines the protocols, procedures and features to be used by Bluetooth enabled HID, such as keyboards, pointing devices, gaming devices, and remote monitoring devices.
Inquiring Device
A Bluetooth enabled device that is carrying out the inquiry procedure.
Inquiry
A procedure where a Bluetooth device transmits inquiry messages and listens for responses in order to discover the other Bluetooth enabled devices within the coverage area.
Inquiry Scan
A procedure where a Bluetooth enabled device listens for inquiry messages received on its inquiry scan physical channel.
Intercom Profile (ICP)
Just as your voice can go unheard by others due to other noises, so too can Bluetooth radios go unheard due to other radio interference. This issue is especially a concern as Bluetooth wireless technology uses an unlicensed band for transmissions. Fortunately the technology was designed explicitly to be both a good citizen in these frequencies by not producing unnecessary noise but also to be able to avoid other radio waves. Some common radio technologies which can affect Bluetooth wireless products include microwave ovens and some models of cordless phones.
Interference
Information in a stream where each information entity in the stream is bound by a time relationship to previous and successive entities.
Isochronous Data
Information in a stream where each information entity in the stream is bound by a time relationship to previous and successive entities.
Known Device
A Bluetooth enabled device for which at least the BD_ADDR is stored.
L2CAP Channel
A procedure for establishing a logical connection on L2CAP level.
L2CAP Channel Establishment
A procedure for establishing a logical connection on L2CAP level.
Link Establishment
A procedure for establishing the default ACL link and hierarchy of links and channels between devices.
Link
Shorthand for a logical link.
Link Key
A secret key that is known by two devices and is used in order to authenticate each device to the other
LMP Authentication
An LMP level procedure for verifying the identity of a remote device.
LMP Pairing
A procedure that authenticates two devices and creates a common link key that can be used as a basis for a trusted relationship or a (single) secure connection.
Logical Channel
Identical to an L2CAP channel, but deprecated due to an alternative meaning in Bluetooth Version 1.1
Logical link
The lowest architectural level used to offer independent data transport services to clients of the Bluetooth system.
Logical Transport
Used in Bluetooth wireless technology to represent commonality between different logical links due to shared acknowledgement protocol and link identifiers.
Name Discovery
A procedure for retrieving the user-friendly name (the Bluetooth enabled device name) of a connectable device.
Object Exchange (OBEX) Protocol
OBEX is a transfer protocol that defines data objects and a communication protocol two devices can use to exchange those objects. OBEX enables applications to work over the Bluetooth protocol stack as well as the IrDA stack. For Bluetooth enabled devices, only connection-oriented OBEX is supported. Three application profiles have been developed using OBEX which include SYNC, FTP and OPP.
Packet
Format of aggregated bits that are transmitted on a physical channel.
Page
The initial phase of the connection procedure where a device transmits a train of page messages until a response is received from the target device or a timeout occurs.
Page Scan
A procedure where a device listens for page messages received on its page scan physical channel.
Paging Device
A Bluetooth enabled device that is carrying out the page procedure.
Paired Device
A Bluetooth enabled device with which a link key has been exchanged (either before connection establishment was requested or during connecting phase).
Pairing
The process of establishing a new relationship between two Bluetooth enabled devices. During this process a link key is exchanged (either before connection establishment was requested or during connecting phase).
Parked Device
A device operating in a basic mode piconet that is synchronized to the master but has given up its default ACL logical transport.
Passcode
When pairing devices, it is strongly recommended to use a passcode to authenticate incoming connections. Also, in certain connection situations you may desire additional assurance that you are connecting to the device or person you expect. A passcode can normally be any combination of keys (letters or numbers). Do use caution as some devices do not map characters similarly. Passkeys are valid only for the connection and may be different for other devices or users.
Personal Area Networking Profile (PAN)
PAN describes how two or more Bluetooth enabled devices can form an ad-hoc network and how the same mechanism can be used to access a remote network through a network access point. The profile roles include the network access point, group ad-hoc network and personal area network user.
Physical Channel
Characterized by synchronized occupancy of a sequence of RF carriers by one or more devices. A number of physical channel types exist with characteristics defined for their different purposes.
Physical Link
A baseband-level connection between two devices established using paging.
Piconet
A collection of devices occupying a shared physical channel where one of the devices is the piconet master and the remaining devices are connected to it.
Piconet Physical Channel
A channel that is divided into time slots in which each slot is related to an RF hop frequency. Consecutive hops normally correspond to different RF hop frequencies and occur at a standard hop rate of 1600 hops/s. These consecutive hops follow a pseudo-random hopping sequence, hopping through a 79 RF channel set.
Piconet Master
The device in a piconet whose Bluetooth clock and Bluetooth device address are used to define the piconet physical channel characteristics.
Piconet Slave
Any device in a piconet that is not the piconet master, but is connected to the piconet master.
PIN
A user-friendly number that can be used to authenticate connections to a device before paring has taken place.
Participant in Multiple Piconets (PMP)
A device that is concurrently a member of more than one piconet, which it achieves using time division multiplexing (TDM) to interleave its activity on each piconet physical channel.
The Parked Slave Broadcast (PSB)
The Parked Slave Broadcast logical transport that is used for communications between the master and parked devices.
Range
Area that a Bluetooth enabled radio can cover with signal. This area can be affected by many different factors.
Scatternet
Two or more piconets that include one or more devices acting as PMPs.
Serial Port Profile (SPP)
SPP defines how to set-up virtual serial ports and connect two Bluetooth enabled devices.
Service Layer Protocol
A protocol that uses an L2CAP channel for transporting PDUs.
Service Discovery
Procedures for querying and browsing for services offered by or through another Bluetooth enabled device.
Service Discovery Application Profile (SDAP)
SDAP describes how an application should use SDP to discover services on a remote device. SDAP requires that any application be able to find out what services are available on any Bluetooth enabled device it connects to.
Silent Device
A Bluetooth enabled device appears as silent to a remote device if it does not respond to inquiries made by the remote device.
SIM Access Profile (SAP)
SAP allows devices such as car phones with built in GSM transceivers to connect to a SIM card in a Bluetooth enabled phone. Therefore the car phone itself does not require a separate SIM card.
Synchronization Profile (SYNC)
The SYNC profile is used in conjunction with GOEP to enable synchronization of calendar and address information (personal information manager (PIM) items) between Bluetooth enabled devices. A common application of this profile is the exchange of data between a PDA and computer.
Unknown device
A Bluetooth enabled device for which no information (Bluetooth device address, link key or other) is stored.
Video Distribution Profile (VDP)
VDP defines how a Bluetooth enabled device streams video over Bluetooth wireless technology. Sample use cases include the streaming of a stored video from a PC media centre to a portable player or streaming from a digital video camera to a TV.
WAP Over Bluetooth Profile (WAP)
WAP defines how the wireless application protocol suite can run over a Bluetooth wireless link. A typical configuration is a mobile phone connecting to a public kiosk over a Bluetooth wireless link and using WAP to browse for information. WAP works across a variety of WAN technologies bringing the Internet to mobile devices.

(Above article reference from: www.bluetooth.com)

Some industry news:

CSR releases the RoadRunner-Flexible plug-n-talk system for low-cost hands-free kit design
(23 Oct 2006)

CSR provides connectivity for Samsung’s Bluetooth MP3 player(16 Oct 2006)

CSR launches wireless VoIP phone based on UniFi, single-chip WiFi (11 Sep 2006)

Others news (July 2006)