After some discussion of wireless devices and the generalities of the Bluetooth specification, the authors approach their subject in progressively greater detail, defining terms and referring to conceptual diagrams as they go. Emphasizing protocols that are unique to Bluetooth communication (such as RFCOMM, which allows applications to treat a radio link just like a hard-wired serial port), the authors show exactly how Bluetooth devices arrange themselves into wireless networks. Then, they explain how these networked devices exchange commands, files, and multimedia streams. They give fair hearing to the specification's shortcomings, too; noting, for example, that it's good for sharing voice signals among devices, but not so good for sharing high-quality music signals.

The authors of Bluetooth Revealed would be the first to concede that the Bluetooth standard is evolving, and certainly will change as more manufacturers adopt and supplement it. Regardless, this book is a valuable statement of the Bluetooth vision, straight from a couple of its creators. --David Wall