Infrared or Bluetooth for your cell phone?

We communicate with fellow human beings in a lot of ways -- smoke signals, drums, light, mail, e-mail, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, instant messaging, phone, telephone, SMS and God knows what else in the future. But, how can you make two gadgets talk to each another without being charged for the connection?

For example, how can you share your sister's address and phone number with a friend? You can go to the phonebook on your cellphone and read aloud the data to your friend. She will have to enter the number manually into the phonebook on her own cellphone. This will take some effort, and there may be inputting errors, too.

One alternative is to send the contact info, sometimes known as the business card, as an SMS to your friend while she is actually sitting right in front of you. This will cost you Rp 250. Now, if you want to share a dozen business cards, that will add up to the price of a cold and refreshing Teh Botol.

Most of the latest cellphones offer two other methods for sharing data. The older technology -- actually already very old -- is infrared connection. The new one is Bluetooth.

Infrared is used in a lot of other devices besides cell phones. You use them in your remote controls. A lot of electronic equipment, large and small, relies on infrared. Because this has become a very mature technology, you can expect almost all infrared devices to be able to work together. That is why you can turn your expensive PDA into a TV remote control, as long as they both have the infrared feature.

Infrared has three inherent limitations, though. First, the two devices have to be in the same line of sight. So, like shooting a gun, you have to aim your gadget into the general direction of the other gadget in order to enable them to exchange data. There should be no object between them that can block the light waves. Second, an infrared connection can allow you to transfer data at a low speed. Newer technologies and standards, set by the Infrared Data Association (IrDA), promise higher data transfer speed, but both gadgets should support the faster transmission. Third, they really have to be close to each other.

Unlike Infrared, Bluetooth does not rely on light waves to transfer data. Instead, it uses radio frequencies. If you are using a Bluetooth connection, you will not have to be very close to each other. The gadgets can detect one another within a radius of 10 meters. They do not have to be within a line of sight of each other, either.

If you are thinking of replacing your cellphone, make sure the new one has both Bluetooth and Infrared. With these features, you will not have to pay the operator just for exchanging business cards. Just beam them, and they will be received by your friend.

There is also an added use for these connectivity features. If you subscribe to a GPRS service, you can use your cellphone as the modem for your PDA or notebook. Preferably your notebook has a Bluetooth device, too, so it can communicate with the cellphone at a faster speed. Then you can have Internet access anywhere, without having to find a phone jack or a network cable.

So, remember that Bluetooth and Infrared are not just the blue and red colors on your cellphone screen.

-- Zatni Arbi