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: $17.70 In Stock Used from: $19.70 In Stock

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