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Latitude D630 bluetooth?
I just learned that the Latitude D630 (runs Windows XP Professional) is supposed to get used with a 'Bluetooth' portable bar code scanner (Library inventory application). The technical (Library) person had referred to it as 'wireless' but obviously it is not the WiFi, which we ARE using to connect to various WiFi access points inside the Library. Does the Latitude come with 'Bluetooth.' Is Bluetooth even available with it? If one has both WiFi and bluetooth with it, is the system capable of running both concurrently (using WiFi for the network connection, Bluetooth for the bar code scanner connection)?
ashrewsb
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May 12th, 2008 20:00
The D630 does have an option for an internal Bluetooth module. It is under the hinge cover. This does not necessarily mean that the laptop has one installed. The device manager will tell you if you have this or not. And yes, you can certainly use Bluetooth at the same time as your Wireless connection.
PS: Big up to my fellow library folk!
BBraxton
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May 13th, 2008 14:00
Thank you.
It looks like we would be stuck with ordering the BT module "after the fact" and therefore installing it.
Are there choices (or "flavors"). From reading about WiFi with Dell forums, for example, I know there are different WiFi cards, some of which work flawlessly and others with lots of reports of less than optimum results. What is the Bluetooth (part) to be ordered to add to our D630 Latitude? How difficult to open up the unit in order to put the bluetooth module into place? I am surmising that the original unit's warranty does not cover this part which we would have to install after the fact. Does it?
Conceptually, would not the Library's BT bar code scanner be quite the same as a "wireless" (Bluetooth) keyboard and mouse set? I have a friend who loves hers and uses them (from across the room) with a laptop computer. My point is, for about $80 it would be possible to buy "wireless" keyboard and mouse set. Is that the same Bluetooth? and, if so, would I be able to do the Bluetooth bar code scanner as if it were the "wireless" keyboard and thereby avoid putting the Dell Bluetooth in (underneath the hinge cover)?
The bar code scanner (BT) mentions using a keyboard "wedge" for example, which is how the Library operates its bar code scanners for circulation and such where there is an actual attached keyboard (I think the "wedge" is a sort of Y-cable)?
ashrewsb
17 Posts
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May 13th, 2008 17:00
Yes, there are different versions, but you probably want to go with the most recent to ensure compatibility with devices in the future. You may want to read a little bit about the technology, but it's just a wireless protocol for communication between devices. Kind of like a wireless USB. And yes, this is the same technology that enables wireless keyboard and mouse. Hopefully the Wikipedia article will help.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
If the thought of removing the hinge cover irks you, an external USB bluetooth module is a less aesthetically pleasing option.
ahmed_hesham818
2 Posts
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May 31st, 2012 06:00
bluetooth cant open
speedstep
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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47K Posts
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May 31st, 2012 06:00
The Very Short BT USB dongles from IOGEAR or Kensington are fine because they don't stick out so much as to easily be broken off or lost.
IOGEAR - GBU421 - Bluetooth 2.1 USB Micro Adapter
The IOGEAR Bluetooth USB Micro Adapter offers Bluetooth connectivity at a fraction of the size of normal Bluetooth USB adapters.
ahmed_hesham818
2 Posts
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May 31st, 2012 06:00
bletooth