Bluetooth vs WiFi

Bluetooth and WiFi are versions of unlicensed wireless technology and have many applications in today's offices, homes, and on the move. Both use the same frequency range, but employ different modulation techniques. The main application of Bluetooth is to replace cables in a variety of small-scale applications,, whereas WiFi is used to provide wireless high speed connectivity for general local area network access. WiFi differs from Bluetooth in that it covers greater distances and provides higher throughput, but requires more expensive hardware and may present higher power consumption.

Bluetooth is a low-power, short-range (30 feet) networking specification with moderately fast transmission speeds of 800 kilobits per second. The technology is therefore useful when transferring information between two or more devices (e.g. notebooks, printers, mobile phones and audio components) that are near each other in low-bandwidth situations. It is commonly used to transfer sound data with telephones (i.e. with a Bluetooth headset) or byte data with hand-held computers (transferring files). Bluetooth protocols simplify the discovery and setup of services between devices, automatically locating other nearby Bluetooth devices to authenticate them, discover their abilities and the processes that are used to setup connections with them. This makes using services easier because more of the security, network address and permission configuration can be automated than with many other network types

In comparison, WiFi is more like a traditional Ethernet network, and requires configuration to set up shared resources, transmit files, and to set up audio links (for example, hands-free devices and headsets). It uses the same radio frequencies as Bluetooth, but with higher power, resulting in a stronger connection. Although it requires more setup than Bluetooth, Wi-Fi is better suited for operating full-scale networks; it enables better range from the base station, a faster connection, and better security than Bluetooth.