Linksys bluetooth adapter and the Treo 650

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Linksys bluetooth adapter and the Treo 650

Posted by Brian Naguiat on July 24, 2005 02:15 PM

Treo accessories reviews

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Did you ever wish your Treo had wi-fi capability? Have you ever wanted to use your Treo 650 as a bluetooth modem for dial-up networking? Look no further! The Linksys USBBT100 USB 1.1 Bluetooth provides an alternative to wi-fi and makes dial-up networking a breeze. Some have even reported connectivity surpassing 700ft into their backyard. Today we will explore this particular bluetooth adapter in 4 parts: overview, first impressions, installation and software, and tests.

Overview

1. Specs
• Bluetooth 1.1
• USB 1.1
• Measures 2.95 in x 0.12 in x 0.33 in
• 0.99 oz (0.028kg)

2. What is included
• Bluetooth Adapter
• USB extension
• User guide
• Setup CD-ROM
• Quick installation guide
• Registration Card

First Impressions

At first glance the Linksys Bluetooth adaptor (USBBT100) seems surprisingly small to backup their claims of a 330 ft range with maximum speed of 721kbps.

There is a single led placed visibly at the back of the unit to indicate connection and activity status. Also, the presence of an antenna on the USBBT100, which is labeled with the Bluetooth insignia, is unique among Bluetooth USB adapters to distinguish itself from all other Bluetooth devices in its class. The antenna measures three inches and is connected to the main unit with a swivel that rotates a 180 degrees with a join that allows the antenna to be lowered and raised. This is especially important for flexibility and provides optimum positioning whether the unit is on its side (when directly connected to the computer) or its upright position (when it is connected via USB extension cable). I personally preferred to keep the unit attached to the computer to avoid any mishaps with the antenna.

Installation and Software

This unit is truly a plug and play device. The installation took a mere two minutes from start to finish. After installing the linksys software, simply plug in the USB Bluetooth adapter, and the unit will automatically be recognized and installed. The Bluetooth interface was designed to be user-friendly but yet provide manual configurations. By default, each service or desired Bluetooth device is setup for automatic startup to provide an optimum user friendly interface.

Performance

The range and signal quality of the USBBT100 is amazing. Linksys claims the maximum unit range is 330 ft with a maximum connectivity of 721 kbps. I ran a small test to validate these numbers. Starting at 100ft I downloaded a 2mb file from my email using my Bluetooth network for web access, and I continued the same procedure every 100 feet until I lost connection. I measured signal strength through the interface on my PC and I will describe them on a 1-10 scale with one being the lowest.

• Procedure: Measure downloading speeds of a 2mb file from my email in kbps every 100 feet along with Bluetooth signal on a scale of 1-10 (low-high)

• Known factors:
-Using a VZW Treo 650
-One wall after 100 ft
-Two walls after 300
-Three walls after 400
-average downloading speed
of the same file is 200kpbs on my desktop

Results

# of feet / signal strength /speed kbps
100ft / 8 / 180
200ft / 8 / 170
300ft / 5 / 118
400ft / 3 / 63
500ft / 2 / 20

Conclusions

The Linksys USB adaptor claims are valid and are beyond my expectations. The sudden drop in signal strength was perhaps due to the number walls. Also lets face it, our Treos do not come with the best Bluetooth connectivity. Because of this, I suspect the USBT100 would work even more flawlessly on other Bluetooth devices. Regardless, the Linksys USB1.1 Bluetooth adapter is certainly a class 1 device and clearly worth my recommendation.

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Neurostechnology, DRM, and the OSD - Feb 28, 2008

Comments

July 24, 2005 05:42 PM {#}

Paul Biba says:

I just got one of these, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to make the Treo browser use the Bluetooth connection. I have my Treo discovere and paired. It wants to connect through the Sprint network and there doesn't seem to be any way to change this. How did you set up your Treo?

July 25, 2005 05:23 AM {#}

aznmikex215 says:

That's pretty sweet, and to even sweetin the deal more that bad boy is only like 35-40 bucks shipped on ebay!!!

July 25, 2005 07:20 AM {#}

adsf says:

you didn't mention the price

July 28, 2005 08:31 PM {#}

alex_mayorga says:

Can you tell wich profiles the adapter support?

July 29, 2005 02:02 PM {#}

Braden says:

Why would you want to use this on a 650? It has Bluetooth built-in...

July 29, 2005 03:37 PM {#}

mytreo.net ? says:

Braden: this is a USB Bluetooth adapter for a PC, not for the Treo! It allows the Treo 650 to communicate via Bluetooth with your computer.

July 29, 2005 06:15 PM {#}

michael says:

will this work with Verizons treo 650s crippled blue tooth version?
regards,
mike

July 29, 2005 07:43 PM {#}

alex_mayorga ? says:

(bump, and testing my TypeKey)
Can you tell wich Bluetooth profiles the adapter support?

August 1, 2005 04:48 AM {#}

TheDude says:

"This unit is truly a plug and play device... After installing the linksys software..."

Doesn't this, by definition, make it NOT plug & play?

Beyond the nit-picking - how do you set up the browser to use the bluetooth connection?

August 1, 2005 11:53 PM {#}

alex_mayorga ? says:

the dude:
Agree on the P&P thing.
Just a moment ago I saw a guide to do that on www.treonauts.com or you have to look for "Reverse DUN" on Google.
No info about the supported profiles yet?
I also wonder wich profiles does the Treo 650 support??

August 5, 2005 10:31 PM {#}

jk says:

Can you connect to your home network though the BT Card via your PC's Ethernet LAN connection?

August 10, 2005 09:00 PM {#}

Greg says:

Based on this article I purchased this adapter and with the addition of a tinfoil reflector I have coverage over my entire house. I can sync and access the web wirelessly.

The big downside is that the drivers seem to cause explorer.exe to crash with a DEP error if you have service pack 2 installed and the drivers haven't been updated in AGES. You can disable DEP but modifying your boot.ini but this is really annoying.

August 12, 2005 10:45 AM {#}

Sam Anderson says:

How do I configure my Treo 650 to browse the web without trying to use GPRS connection? Every time I try, it wants to turn the phone on and connect through GPRS?

HELP?

Thanks
Sam

August 15, 2005 03:58 AM {#}

Miguel ? says:

To get Blazer to work you must go to preferences and set a proxy. Look up free proxies in a web search and try them. This is how I'm using my treo right now.

You can do your mail and surf too. If not, you can download xiino or webtogo and give them both a try. Buy the one you like. I like xiino for some sites and webtogo for others. Blazer doesn't get paypal and some sites like that but it's still got the best display layout out there.
Mig

August 17, 2005 03:21 PM {#}

Michael says:

"Have you ever wanted to use your Treo 650 as a bluetooth modem for dial-up networking?"

Most of your article talks about high speed BT access for your TREO via your PC. But what about the other way around. I am trying to use my TREO as a modem and connect to my laptop so I can download email from anywhere I get a Sprint signal. Can you use this new Linksys BT adapter to do that? My company gave me a ratter old laptop w/o BT... THE NERVE!

October 18, 2005 09:44 PM {#}

algal says:

A lot of folks here are asking about configuring the Treo to use your computer's internet connection through Bluetooth. This can be done, but it requires some configuring.

It's usually called "reverse DUN" (as in, reverse dial-up networking). Search the forums or google for details

November 20, 2005 11:10 PM {#}

mooney says:

any bluetooth range expanders or antennas available to improve bluetooth phone to bluetooth headset link?

February 21, 2006 11:25 PM {#}

engineerjj says:

At the beginning of this post, you mentioned using the Treo as an access point to the internet for your PC via Bluetooth. Everything I have seen posted about Reverse BT DUN is about using your PC's internet connection to give access to the internet for your phone, not the other way around. Anybody know how to do what this article starts out saying is possible? I don't need internet on my phone when I have it on my laptop already.

June 8, 2006 02:46 AM {#}

sfgiants says:

I purchased this Linksys adapter last year after reading this review. All has work great on reverse BT DUN for some time with a great signal strength (down the road from my house!) I now have a brand new 650 (replaced for my old 650 that had some issues). Havn't used the Linksys for a few months but decided to use it again today. I am now getting terrible strenght for BT. I can barley get out of my computer room before I loose the signal. Any ideas on why I have lost this signal strenth. Nothing else has changed on my computer etc.
Cheers

March 16, 2007 08:04 AM {#}

hook1945 says:

I need info on a wireless hotsysnc and treo 650 using a linksys bt adapter with my HP notebook. I am having trouble with com ports. Do I disable the internal modem (currently on Com 4)?
Is there a link to help me with this problem or can offer instructions on the process I must go through?