Bluetooth For Java

Bluetooth is a technology for wireless communication that functions in much the same way that home/office laptops connect to the Internet. It is typically used for short burst communications instead of a continuous connection. Because of this difference, Bluetooth is more typically found supported in wireless phones and personal devices.

Bluetooth for Java is not an overview of Bluetooth. In the book, Bruce Hopkins and Ranjith Antony describe how to develop wireless Java applications using Bluetooth for a variety of platforms. This includes an API overview of the Java library, development of Bluetooth-based services, highlights of security concerns, and walkthroughs for development with some of the different tools available. Programs will not be just J2ME (micro devices) based, but will also be for J2SE (client/desktop).

User review
A Great Intro Book from a deeply caring Author
My experience has been that that this book covers THE BASICS in a very easy to understand writing style. I am a basic Database (formerly) and C/C++/Assembly (Embedded Hardware)Programmer, with some hands-on and classroom electronics (BS electrical engineering next year) background, but with NO FORMAL Java knowledge, and yet I found the book very easy to read and understand.

As an added bonus I was introduced to JINI Networking concepts in a very gentle way too.

This book will NOT teach you how to write Production Level Code, but that's not the purpose of the book. Instead this book will introduce the Java-Bluetooth beginner to underlying concepts in a straight forward intuitive way, including using a `Hands-On` Bluetooth Kit with 2 Bluetooth enabled Transceivers (highly Recommended if your new to the hardware), and testing bluetooth data encryption `sniffing` techniques with a FREE ad-on that is included with the additional kit.

At the completion of this book you will have to surf the web and study the varios Bluetooth and Wireless Developer Toolkits that are out there.

Finally, I want to thank Bruce Hopkins personally for IMMEDIATELY responding when I e-mailed him, regarding the where-abouts of my kit. It turned out that my kit was sitting at my complex the whole time, which was my fault not Bruce's, but Bruce acted Professionally the whole time, and in a short time we've emailed each other 5 times cumulatively, including a question I had about an SDK not directly mentioned in the book.

In synopsis, Bruce's Book will teach you the BASICS and guide you into finding out for yourself where the next steps lay. For a TRUE BEGINNER this Book is GREAT, and for the seasoned java-bluetooth developer, you'll have to wait for Bruce's next clearly written Intermediate or Advanced Java Bluetooth Masterpiece.

User review
A rush job
A book I was looking forward to, but was very disappointed by. The theoretical parts are ok, but it is nothing you can't find online. The real meat for me was the example code. And oh boy, is it terrible. The chapter on J2ME (the most important one) has two code examples that the author claims are working.

These examples won't start, they won't even compile! They are half finished programs written by a Java amateur. I can only hope it is not the author himself, because if it is it casts considerable doubt on the rest of the book.

I find it amazing that the publishing company includes this in a published book, they really must have rushed it out. Even more shamefully is the fact that this code is available to download online unchanged at the book site. No errata at all.

User review
Save Your Money
Can get all the info you need on the web especially Sun's website such as http://developers.sun.com/.
Book doesn't even show you how to set up the Bluetooth API.

Shouldn't this book be called Java for Bluetooth not Bluetooth for Java??

User review
Only First Half Of The Book Is Useful!!!
The first half of this book deserves 4 stars. It makes bluetooth easy to understand by not including too much technical info like timing, etc. I have read other books on bluetooth, but they are too technical. It's like the author just copied the info directly from the RFC. If you are just working on high level application, then the first half of this book is for you. It explains the commonly used Java bluetooth API in simple fashion, and I like the source codes in the book. It is all you need to get start with.

The second half of the book is disappointing. It talks about programming with specific bluetooth simulator and other embredded devices. The info on the simulator is out-dated, because the company no longer offer free trial. So it is useless unless you buy it which I think should be very expensive. Same thing applies to the embredded hardwares. Those chapters are useless for me because they applies only to those devices, and I don't have them. So, I ended up skipping 1/2 of the book.

This is one of the few tech books that has a lot of blank spaces and photos. If you remove those blank spaces and photos, the thickness of the book may be reduced by at least 1/4. So there are not as much info as you think based on the number of pages of this book. But the first half of this book does deserve 4 stars.

User review
Great Introduction Book on an Emerging Technology
The authors do a very good job of stepping through the `history` of wireless devices, while keeping focus on developing Bluetooth applications. The examples break down the components to a Bluetooth application and provide a good starting point for developers.

I gave a four star rating based on a couple of my personal preferences. First there are a few bulleted list that don't provide much information which take up a lot of page space. (An example would be the list of JSR-82 Expert Group on page 35.) The other comment is the 50 or so pages of the API in the appendices. Although there is a short explanation for each method, interface, constant, etc., I prefer to look that information up online.