why won't apple build bluetooth in?

othelloothello
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
is it me, or are apple somehow reluctant in build bluetooth in? before the last powerbook revision everyone thought that bluetooth was a given. didn't happen. now the new G4 specs surface (if they are true) and still no bluetooth.



yet apple make a big thing if iSync and mobile phones and bluetooth in jaguar.



<img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    jonathan brisbyjonathan brisby Posts: 318member
    I think part of the reason for this change is that blue tooth is still developing. They might change standards a few more times before 'perfecting' it. Also the external adapters might get better signal strength. Just some thoughts. Others?
  • Reply 2 of 10
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    I wonder what kind of antennea Apple build into their computers. If the thing has a wide range of operating freq's then it would be possible to update Apple's wireless offerings through the airport card itself. Like a new card for 802.11g/a and with bluetooth built into the card itself.



    A hybrid airtooth-blueport card would make the install very clean. Continue to offer the USB Bluetooth dongle for those who already have perfectly acceptable airport cards.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    macsrgood4umacsrgood4u Posts: 3,007member
    Apple is waiting for a real standardization to take effect. Also their vendors do not yet have the necessary product ready for Apple. in case you didn't know, Apple does not make anything that goes into their computers. The parts are all outsourced.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    pesipesi Posts: 424member
    bluetooth is still a pretty big gamble. until we see more devices with bluetooth support, it's best to keep it separate.



    besides, would you pay a higher price for your mac if it had bluetooth built in? i'm guessing not. you'd want it built in for the same price you're paying now.



    until apple sees that the time is right, it makes more money from selling bluetooth adapters separately.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    rolandgrolandg Posts: 632member
    Airport/Bluetooth hybrid cards would work perfect since both utilise the same frequency spectrum. This would be the best build-in solution since every Mac would be upgradeable, and I guess they are holding back until they release the next Airport update, thus not having twice the development costs.



    Bluetooth is perfectly standard although we will see minor changes until it is as mainstream as USB which went the same way.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    haraldharald Posts: 2,152member
    The spec is solid, not changing. Implementation is now solid too. Apple like to lead with IO technology even if there's no installed base (would love to say "lead with technology" but can't). All Airport antennae are BT ready. You can already buy hybrid BT / 802.11b cards.



    I wouldn't be surprised if they DID install BT on all computers ...



    ... in the same sort of timeframe that Airport cards ship as standard on all Macs ...
  • Reply 7 of 10
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    I'm going to move this to General Discussion.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    rolandgrolandg Posts: 632member
    [quote]Originally posted by Fran441:

    <strong>I'm going to move this to General Discussion.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Errm, completely wrong forum, IMO.



    Should have moved to Current Hardware if at all.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    The thread, in my opinion, belongs in General Discussion because the original poster wasn't questioning when it would be in a future product, but why it wasn't coming.



    If there is a post which is more of a question as to why Apple won't do something, it belongs in General Discussion. It really wasn't Future Hardware as it's more of a question/rant towards Apple and it's definitely not Current Hardware.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    buisbuis Posts: 30member
    I think it will come to the next PowerBook and maybe the iBook first. For those models it's pretty darn inconvenient having a thingy stick out of a USB port. It'd be pretty vulnerable there.

    I say PowerBook has a good shot at it, though the features BlueTooth give you are big on the consumer level too.



    Inlcuding it in the airportcard would be a stroke of genius. "Get two Wireless connections on one card" while not bothering the non-believers with the extra charge. They could even make the next Airport card more expensive, even though BlueTooth will add next to nothing to the production cost. I'm thinking $130,- for an Airport/BlueTooth card. Maybe they're waiting for AirPort 802.11z (or whatever is next)?
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