Architectural Overview of Intel's Bluetooth* Software Stack (continued)


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INTEL UI AND END-USER EXPERIENCE

Intel's UI for controlling and configuring Bluetooth connections and devices is closely integrated into the OS UI components. Some of the UI elements are as follows:

  • A Windows Explorer* extension for displaying and managing remote devices and connections. The Explorer extension also supports file transfer by drag and drop of the files to be transferred.
  • A control panel applet specifically for managing the local Bluetooth device. It is also used for changing policies applicable to the local device.
  • A system tray icon for displaying radio status, security-related pop-ups, and connection statistics.
As noted earlier, several native OS applications are enabled on Bluetooth devices, and (as described in the section on open architecture below) third parties have the ability to develop independent Bluetooth applications on the Intel stack.

A few usage scenarios are described below illustrating different aspects of the end-user experience.

File Transfer
Files can be transferred over the air in a couple of different ways:

  • The user can perform a drag-and-drop operation onto the destination device using the Explorer extensions.
  • An independent file transfer application could be launched. This application could be a legacy file transfer application such as ProComm Plus or Intellisync, or it could be a Bluetooth application.
To illustrate further the end-user experience with the first scenario, the file transfer application on one notebook computer is typically started, and the Explorer is launched on the second notebook computer. The user would then search for the first computer under the Bluetooth Devices folder under the My Computer category of the Explorer and drag and drop the desired file onto the first notebook computer.

Device Discovery
Device discovery can be triggered manually or automatically at some preset intervals. This is a policy that needs to be set using the control panel. Once such a policy is set, remote devices are discovered when the appropriate trigger fires. Bluetooth specifications allow a device to be in non-discoverable mode where it will not be scanning for device discovery requests from other devices.




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 * Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor and used by Intel under license.