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Why would i want a bluetooth enabled netbook?

N

nikko

Senior member
I'm trying to help a friend buy a netbook (against my advice, btw), and she's got it narrowed down to two models. One has bluetooth, one does not. The latter is also $100 cheaper. I have no experience with bluetooth on computers. Why would one want it? What do people use it for?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
I've used it to download pictures from my cell phone, and I believe some mice, keyboards, and other wireless devices use bluetooth as well.
 
All things equal, $100 for just bluetooth is a ripoff. If the other specs and build quality are nicer, spend the extra $100 though.

Bluetooth is for wireless connectivity between phones, mice, keyboards, and other peripherals. Basically, it helps to free up some USB slots that would normally be occupied by RF wireless devices with USB dongles.

You can always buy a $10-15 USB bluetooth dongle if needed.
 
CurseTheSky said:
All things equal, $100 for just bluetooth is a ripoff. If the other specs and build quality are nicer, spend the extra $100 though.

You can always buy a $10-15 USB bluetooth dongle if needed.
Click to expand...


A dongle would be sticking out the laptop, though, which is never a good thing.

Bluetooth is nice to have, not really worth $100 but I'm guessing there's more difference between the two laptops than just the bt.
 
M0RPH said:
A dongle would be sticking out the laptop, though, which is never a good thing.
Click to expand...
http://www.meritline.com/showLargImage.aspx?sku=192-094 -- $5 shipped ($1 shipped when its on sale)

That's barely noticeable. The only drawback is it will take up a USB slot, which are rather hard to come by on typical netbooks -- but then again, most people don't plug many USB things into netbooks since they're typically used on the go.

M0RPH said:
Bluetooth is nice to have, not really worth $100 but I'm guessing there's more difference between the two laptops than just the bt.
Click to expand...

I agree.
 
Unless you know before buying your laptop that it has to have bluetooth for x/y reason, there is no reason to get it because you will never use it.
 
The bluetooth USB things don't stick out really at all, but the software is expensive I think. BlueSoleil is like $60, but my laptop came with it's own, so I'm not sure. I use it all the time to sync my phone and get pictures and stuff off it. I am definitely going to buy a BT USB for my desktop, but not sure about software options.
 
ChaiBabbaChai said:
The bluetooth USB things don't stick out really at all, but the software is expensive I think. BlueSoleil is like $60
Click to expand...

Don't know about XP, but doesn't Vista/7 have built-in BT drivers? I've used a BT dongle on a Vista notebook and just plugged it in. Vista recognized it, and it just worked (used with this BT mouse).
 
Zap said:
Don't know about XP, but doesn't Vista/7 have built-in BT drivers? I've used a BT dongle on a Vista notebook and just plugged it in. Vista recognized it, and it just worked (used with this BT mouse).
Click to expand...

I'm not sure because I have only used it with computers that have BT built in, but I assumed you needed some sort of software other than the drivers. I guess all you need is the driver to allow your cell's software suite to connect to your cell, for example.
 
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