File Transfer Via Bluetooth?

[doctorzeph]

I wonder why no other syncing programs besides Classic utilize Bluetooth to hotsync. I'm sure WiFi is more common, but Bluetooth is great when you don't have a WiFi access point.

[Ricyteach]

You can't do what most of you seem to want to do- which is directly beam a file from the Pre to your computer or vice versa, or from Pre to another phone. Sorry if what I said made it sound like that.

What you can do is connect to the Pre file system via SSH with Winscp over the bluetooth radio. However, is really makes no sense to do this, because you can do the same thing over the Pre's wifi, and any presumably any computer you have access to with bluetooth also has a network connection, no? Plus wifi is faster.

If you really really want to do this though, basically what you do is (this will not be detailed because it varies depending on what kind of bluetooth software you computer has):

1. turn on your bluetooth on the Pre
2. search for the Pre in you bluetooth software and add it to your devices
3. join the Pre's "personal area network" in your computer's bluetooth software
4. use SSH to talk to your Pre (with putty or winscp) just like you would over the Pre's wifi, but instead of using the Pre's network IP address (usually 192.168.1.something), use the bluetooth ip address.
5. unfortunately i can't remember what the bluetooth ip address is. sorry. i'll try to get back to you on this.

but really, none of this should be necessary. it's pretty much just a slower version of using the wifi to transfer files.

[ianmr65]

The first cell phone i got that was supposed to be Bluetooth capable was the nokia 6210 in the late 1990's - It only supported data transfer!
The first one that actually worked ie could be paired for any length of time and that supported audio ect, was the Nokia 6230, but to be honest setting up your bluetooth stack on windows 98 or 2000 or whatever was a complete pain - and pairing was a hit and miss affair.
As time went on everything got a lot slicker, and even children were happily transferring media objects to each other.
Now as the operators started to see their over the air revenue streams from the sale of ringtones , music, and games ect start to collapse, so they set about protecting the paid for content on the phones, preventing it from being transferred.
Then the whole drm arguments started. And protecting content got a great deal more contentious..
So now to protect their paid for revenues the operators have started blocking the mechanisms that enables objects to be data transferred via bluetooth.

I think we need a patch, to enable data transfer / object push via bluetooth - unless Palm have made this patch proof?

[mandaman2k]

Originally Posted by jhoff80

No, it's not possible for exactly the reason the error message says. The Pre does not support the OBEX bluetooth profile.

This means the hardware bluetooth installed doesn't supoort OBEX or the WebOS is the one that doesn't support or knows how to use it,

Because now the the full PDK is out, maybe someone can develop something.

[VeeDubb65]

Originally Posted by mandaman2k

This means the hardware bluetooth installed doesn't supoort OBEX or the WebOS is the one that doesn't support or knows how to use it,

Because now the the full PDK is out, maybe someone can develop something.

It's software, not hardware.

However, the PDK is probably not the best way to approach this. A simpler solution (although still highly complex) would be to port a more 'standard' BT stack to the Pre and replace the built in stack. This is not at all trivial however, and even once it's done would still require access to API's that are not at all documented on the system.

[gilcarvr]

Any recent movement on Bluetooth? my Palm Centro can send my contacts via blootooth... but my Pre Plus doesn't recognize any devices in my house...

[Huff]

Originally Posted by gilcarvr

Any recent movement on Bluetooth? my Palm Centro can send my contacts via blootooth... but my Pre Plus doesn't recognize any devices in my house...

My Pre sends contacts to my cars stereo bluetooth with ease.

[lancewright]

I can live with HP / Palm not including the appropriate Bluetooth profiles enabling file transfers as it can lead to a lot of software piracy and media piracy.

But, are you telling me that after a year and a half, and with the supposedly "open" WebOS platform that there is not a SINGLE WebOS developer who hasn't come up with a patch, application, or hacked solution to this?

Seriously?

This feels like a more political situation than technological, because even a Jail-broken iPhone can do Bluetooth file transfer these days.