I bought The IOGear BT adapter based on reviews saying it worked in Vista64. When it came in I just plugged it in and waited. Within a few minutes, Windows had discovered and installed the necessary drivers (I’ve had very good luck with drivers on win7). I did not use the CD that came with it. Nothing easier than that. Great product, IOGear!

Before you pair your Palm, and this was key, update to the current Palm desktop (available from Palm free online) and change your HotSync settings (look for Connections, bottom-left of the settings window for HotSync Manager 7.0.2). I found that selecting “Bluetooth” as a sync method was not sufficient – sync never activated on the PC. As soon as I added “Serial” to the list, the next sync worked. I’m not sure where I found this, but that was the missing piece for me.

To get the Palm paired and working took several attempts for me. I’d recommend going into the windows Bluetooth settings and making your PC visible, then setting up from the Palm (for security, turn off visibility after you’re done pairing). Wait for it to recognize your PC’s name, not just “unnamed computer”. On the Palm, ignore & hit “next” thru the steps in the wizard about setting up a serial port – not relevant to Vista/Win7. If your Hotsync settings are right and the pairing takes, you’ll be syncing.

Sync is slower on Bluetooth, so be patient – at least it works, and obsolescence is held at bay a little longer. By the way, if you use PocketTunes, that still works via USB (I have Rhapsody and needed that to get my to-go tunes). Good luck!

See larger image IOGear Enhanced Data Rate Bluetooth USB Adapter with Range up to 66 ft. GBU221 (Grey) (Electronics) List Price: $51.90 USD New From: $29.99 In Stock Used from: $8.99 In Stock

Product Features

I installed the product in my Apple PowerBook G4 and iBook Dual USB and it instantly recognized the product without any drivers. I also believe this is the same product found inside every Bluetooth-equipped Mac because Apple did release a firmware update to their internal Bluetooth and it included these external D-Link DBT-120 units, if a user had one. (The only problem is that if you updated the firmware that Apple provided, you will not be able to use the D-Link on a PC. I haven’t updated mine and never ran into sync problems).

I sync my address book and calendar in Jaguar and Panther OS to my mobile phone and iPod without any hitches.

Pros:

• Small, compact, light
• No drivers needed for Mac OS Jaguar and Panther and Windows OS.
• Price. This product used to cost a lot. Now it has dropped down to USD40. Which is great, because this very same product that is installed internally in Macs still cost USD45 for the option. Shouldn’t an OEM product installed during production be cheaper? Furthermore, if it’s installed internally then you cannot transfer it between computers. The external is cheaper and transferable.

Cons:

• The only difficulty I can think of is the implementation of the Bluetooth standard across products.

I love gadgets and find myself tinkering with anything technological so I usually don’t have problems making one product operate with another.

The problem with Bluetooth is that there is no standard way to activate and access operation between products. Each product has its own graphic user interface to contend with. Bluetooth is being billed to consumers as an easy plug and play product. I’m sure it is – just not right now as manufacturers are still fiddling with how to integrate it with their products. Hence, other consumers will have to read the manual on how to access and use Bluetooth across products. In products that come with no manual, they will have to be used to fiddling the interface. Until then, I can’t wait for the time where Bluetooth actually performs the way it is billed.

If it doesn’t work the first time, try to understand the logic behind each product’s interface. The problem is that if they can’t get it to work, they blame D-Link. If you’re computer recognizes the product upon install, then there is no problem. If it doesn’t and the activity lights don’t work, then send it back. Unlike Wireless/Wired Ethernet products, the user interface is not embedded in the Bluetooth unit. This Bluetooth product is only a vessel. The actual operation is dependent on the computer and interface it has been programmed to interact with Bluetooth.

See larger image D-Link DBT-120 Wireless Bluetooth 2.0 USB Adapter (Electronics) List Price: $47.99 USD New From: $16.89 In Stock Used from: $14.00 In Stock

Product Features

I installed this on an Aspire One, fits perfectly, is exactly the right size and uses little power. XP 32 bit. Did almost nothing to resource use. Paired this with a Nokia N95 and a Logitech blue Logitech V470 Bluetooth Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks (Blue). That mouse looks so cool with this netbook. It doesn’t get much better than this.

I’m leaving the adapter plugged in forever.

There is one downside, the blue LED is kind of bright and blinks a lot while you use the adapter. A piece of black electrical tape solved that problem in a heartbeat.

To those that have trouble with the drivers – you have to follow instructions. If you insert this adapter before you install the software you will end up with no end of huge problems. That is flat out the only reason this adapter wouldn’t work.

A great alternative to this adapter, and I own 3 of these is: IOGear GBU421 Bluetooth 2.0 USB Micro Adapter. I know for certain the IOGear works with Vista 64bit.

Technical Details and Product Details

• The smallest Bluetooth in the market
• Bluetooth specification 2.1 EDR/ v.1.2
• Bluetooth Class 2, range 33 feet
• Transfer files, presentations, photos or music wirelessly
• Support for 802.11 Coexistence, Scatternet Support
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 0.6 x 0.1 inches ; 3.2 ounces

See larger image Cirago Bluetooth BTA3210 v2.1 EDR Class 2 Micro Bluetooth Adapter (Electronics) List Price: $24.99 USD New From: $14.99 In Stock

The Sony VAIO has VISTA so i let the built-in bluetooth driver do all the work (didn’t need to install anything from the enclosed CD). I’m a non-techie, and it took me just a few minutes to get things up and running. I’m also happy to find that the Kensington Bluetooth PilotMouse (mfg #72414) also works with Vista, eventhough the packaging materials indicate that it only supports Windows XP.

One thing to caution is that the edges of the Kensington adapter (the part that is sticking out) are quite sharp, so I already got scratched several times. I’ll continue to look for another product with better and safer design, and once I find it, I will retire this Kensington adapter to be used with my desktop (where I plug the adapter in the back of my computer)

I have not tested the bluetooth adapter with listening to music, or talking on the phone. I’ve only used it for the mouse, and the mouse seems very resonsive.

Other than that, I’m very satisfied with Amazon; I chose 2-day delivery (placed the order on 6/9) but ended up receiving the product on 6/10. Thank you Amazon.

See larger image Kensington K33902US Bluetooth USB Micro Adapter (Electronics) List Price: $19.99 USD New From: $16.31 In Stock Used from: $25.00 In Stock

The provided instructions (you can actually download or read the manual on the web while you’re waiting for the Bluetooth dongle to arrive) are very clear, the install is a snap….but you’ve read other reviews and know that already.

Here’s the true beauty of this tiny piece of hardware. It links to practically everything! Because it is not only Bluetooth 2.0 compliant but also backward compatible to Bluetooth 1.1 and also supports stereo audio you won’t have any issues connecting to a Bluetooth mouse or stereo headset.

Within minutes of the install I had the little (and I mean tiny) GBU421 linked to my Motorola cell phone (audio and dialing from the laptop, no need to ever get the phone out of pocket or purse), a PDA, Garmin GPS Mobile10, Bluetooth headset and a mouse. The crazy thing is IOGear has managed to make this thing work with all the above simultaneously.

Anyone considering a ‘look alike’ Bluetooth dongle featured by some eBay and other sellers, don’t bother. Either they aren’t 2.0 or aren’t backward compatible (you lose the use of most Bluetooth mice) won’t handle stereo audio and sometimes all the above.

Very impressive IOGear…and did I mention it’s really tiny?

See larger image IOGear USB 2.1 Bluetooth Micro Adapter GBU421 (Electronics) List Price: $48.20 USD New From: $8.99 In Stock Used from: $15.24 In Stock