D-Link DBT-120 Wireless Bluetooth 2.0 USB Adapter

Main Features

I installed the product in my Apple PowerBook G4 and iBook Dual USB and it instantly recognized the product without any drivers. I also believe this is the same product found inside every Bluetooth-equipped Mac because Apple did release a firmware update to their internal Bluetooth and it included these external D-Link DBT-120 units, if a user had one. (The only problem is that if you updated the firmware that Apple provided, you will not be able to use the D-Link on a PC. I haven't updated mine and never ran into sync problems).

I sync my address book and calendar in Jaguar and Panther OS to my mobile phone and iPod without any hitches.

Pros:
1. Small, compact, light
2. No drivers needed for Mac OS Jaguar and Panther and Windows XP OS.

3. Price. This product used to cost a lot. Now it has dropped down to USD40. Which is great, because this very same product that is installed internally in Macs still cost USD45 for the option. Shouldn't an OEM product installed during production be cheaper? Furthermore, if it's installed internally then you cannot transfer it between computers. The external is cheaper and transferrable.

Cons:
1. The only difficulty I can think of is the implementation of the Bluetooth standard across products.

I love gadgets and find myself tinkering with anything technological so I usually don't have problems making one product operate with another.

The problem with Bluetooth is that there is no standard way to activate and access operation between products. Each product has its own graphic user interface to contend with. Bluetooth is being billed to consumers as an easy plug and play product. I'm sure it is - just not right now as manufacturers are still fiddling with how to integrate it with their products. Hence, other consumers will have to read the manual on how to access and use Bluetooth across products. In products that come with no manual, they will have to be used to fiddling the interface. Until then, I can't wait for the time where Bluetooth actually performs the way it is billed.

If it doesn't work the first time, try to understand the logic behind each product's interface. The problem is that if they can't get it to work, they blame D-Link. If you're computer recognizes the product upon install, then there is no problem. If it doesn't and the activity lights don't work, then send it back. Unlike Wireless/Wired Ethernet products, the user interface is not embedded in the Bluetooth unit. This Bluetooth product is only a vessel. The actual operation is dependent on the computer and interface it has been programmed to interact with Bluetooth.


What you need to know about any Bluetooth USB Adaptor   January 3, 2006
OverTheMoon (overthemoonreview@hotmail.com)
32 out of 35 found this review helpful

Hunting down a Bluetooth USB can seem like a complicated task but is in fact a lot easier than you would expect if you learn two basic things - range and speed. All Bluetooth USB connections do the same thing. They are small dongles that slot into a USB connection. A Bluetooth USB is also sometimes called a Bluetooth Dongle. They will work with USB 1.1 and above. Bluetooth USB connections have a range of 10 meters to 100 meters depending on which brand you choose. 1 meter = 3.2 feet, so we are looking at Bluetooth USB products ranging from 30 feet to 300 feet. You can probably find Bluetooth USB Adaptors that have a longer range than 100 meters but all of this is about reading the product descriptions to find the kind of range you want. 10 meters is a big distance and so is 100 meters. It means you can have a wireless connection with your PC and Bluetooth device all the way down the road depending on the range you want. So after you have worked out the range you want you need to examine the speed. This is where Bluetooth USB adaptors vary considerably between 723Kbps and 3Mbps. The 723Kbps version is known as Bluetooth V1.2 and the 3Mbps is known as Bluetooth V2.0. V1.2 runs just better than half the speed of a standard USB cable connection. V2 is almost instantaneous, however the difference in terms of sending a big email from your PC to your phone is a matter of seconds, so both V1.2 and V2.0 are considered fast wireless Bluetooth connections. If you can get V2.0 you will have a faster Bluetooth connection. No harm owning a V1.2, you will still be using your Bluetooth device with speed. Some Bluetooth USB adaptors offer encryption but some do not work encrypted. They all use security passwords. If you want encryption you need to check that your Bluetooth USB adaptor has it. All Bluetooth USB adaptors simply slot into your USB connection. I do not know about Apple or Linux but with Windows XP SP2 you will have automatic detection; however it will take a few seconds to setup every time you use it unless you have a CD. In most cases the manual asks that you install the software from the CD before you plug-in the Bluetooth USB adaptor but XP may reject it in which case you need the adaptor in the slot before you install from the CD. CD installation will guarantee a onetime setup only and you don't have to install it again. Most Bluetooth USB adaptors will light up blue. The Bluetooth icon looks like a big letter B. It will appear in your notification area of Windows XP. Installation will create a new place in the `Other' section called My Bluetooth Places. Here devices can be detected and displayed as icons. This will usually give you the following abilities Serial Porting, Dial Up Networking, Fax, Headset, PIM Item Transfer, PIM Synchronization, File Transfer, Network Access, Audio Gateway and HID. It can also access more than one device at a time. Mobile phone users can enjoy wireless access to their phones and access their phone with whatever software they have been provided with. I personally own an MSI Star Key Bluetooth USB. The biggest problem is not with the Bluetooth USB adaptor setup or even with starting up Bluetooth on various devices but with setting up software to use your Bluetooth connection. That will only be as good as the software is. And to that I recommend Bluetooth especially for mobile phone users who have that function. You can work your phone from your desktop without wires.


Easy and flawless installation and operation with two Macs   December 24, 2003
Don Nunn (Seattle, WA)
21 out of 24 found this review helpful

I use this Bluetooth adapter on two machines-a two-year-old 14.1" iBook and a three-year-old G4 desktop machine, both running OS X 10.3.2-and I'm really pleased with it. The adapter works flawlessly on both with my Tungsten T3 handheld.

Simple, easy installation-I just plug it in, no separate drivers required-and I've encountered no problems with syncing my T3 to Palm Desktop software and several third-party conduits for photographs and whatnot. I have no idea what's on the CD that accompanied the package, because OS X's built-in Bluetooth support handles this adapter perfectly.

Interesting to me that a quick reading of the reviews posted here indicates little or no hassle with this adapter for Mac users, and a bit of hassle all the way to hair-pulling insanity for some Windows users. I use both Macs and Windows machines in my daily life, and I like each for specific purposes, but the Mac's ease of use definitely can't be beat-and this is a shining example of that philosophy.


Works great with my WindowsXP and Ti68 phone   September 26, 2003
P. Kuz (Portland, OR USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I was surprised to read of all the issues that other Windows users had. Maybe I didn't have any problems because I'm using WindowsXP, but everything installed just fine. Maybe I'm just better at following instructions :). I bought it mostly so that I could synch my Sony Ericsson Ti68 with Outlook (Calendar, Contacts, Tasks). Bluetooth is much more reliable than the Infrared connection method that my phone also supports.

This device automatically detects when I'm near my computer with my phone and starts syncronizing automatically.

The USB extension cord is very thin (think microphone cable) and it allows me to quickly connect this adapter without crawling under my desk to find the USB ports (why do most PC companies continue to put these on the back?).

Overall, I can't recommend this highly enough. It's great price is just a bonus.


the easiest way to sync up T610 cellphone with your computer   August 25, 2003
P. Lee (santa clara, ca United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

...If you want to transfer files(photos,midi) or syn up Microsoft Outlook (calendar,contacts,tasks) with your T610, this is the right product you need. It's easy to do setup in winXP. Just plug in and install the drivers. That's it ! Then your T610 will show as a new device in XP. You can freely move files to/from T610 by just one click and sync up your Outlook fast and easily.