Bluetooth Profiles

The profile found in Bluetooth will describe how

the technology is used. Profiles can be best

described as vertical slices through the protocol

stack. It will define options in each protocol

that are mandatory for the profile.

The profile will also define the parameter ranges

for each protocol. The concept of the profile is

used to decrease the risk of interoperability

problems between the different products. These

profiles won't normally define any additions to

the Bluetooth specification, which is why you can

add new profiles where you need them. The

Bluetooth underlying technology is the same, only

the specific method that it's used is defined.

Generally speaking, all profiles of Bluetooth are

based on the GAP (Generic Access Profile). There

are 9 profiles that fall in the GAP category, and

they are below:

1. AVRCP - Audio/Video Remote Control

Profile

2. ESDP - Extended Service Discovery Profile

3. CIP - Common ISDN Access Profile

4. PAN - Public Area Network Profile

5. HCRP - Hardcopy Cable Replacement

Profile

6. GAVDP - Generic Audio/Visual Distribution

Profile

7. A2DP - Advanced Audio Distribution Profile

8. VDP - Video Distribution Profile

9. HID - Human Interface Device Profile

To put it another way, usage models will describe

Bluetooth device applications and the associated

profiles that are used. The usage model focuses

mainly on three categories - voice/data access points,

peripheral interconnects, and PAN (Personal Area

Networking).

The voice and data access points involve connecting

computing devices to communicating devices through

a wireless link. This way, data can be transferred

in a wireless manor, without the need of cables or

other types of connectivity.

PAN is another very important usage model with

strong appeal to business customers. Bluetooth

networks are easy to set up in virtually any type

of environment. An example would be meeting

others at a trade show.

Instead of having contact information beamed via

infrared, business cards can quickly and easily be

transferred via Bluetooth wireless. The fact is

that many documents can be exchanged this very

same way - making the uses and possibilities

virtually endless.

The Bluetooth profile is very important to the

specification, as it enables you to do so much

more. You can use peripherals and devices with

the profiles, and virtually anything else that you

decide.

As Bluetooth expands and gets bigger and better,

you can count on the profiles to expand and get

even more functions. If you have experience with

Bluetooth profiles, you should know exactly what

they are and what you can do with them. If not,

all you need is a Bluetooth device - and a vivid