TRENDnet Bluetooth USB Adapter TBW-101UB (Blue)

by TRENDnet

Product Details

Data Sheet [137kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 1 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches ; 0.3 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000BVV37
• Item model number: TBW-101UB
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 2, 2003

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

TRENDnet's TBW-101UB Bluetooth USB Adapter allows you to make short-range wireless connections between your computer and Bluetooth enabled devices such as Cellular Phone, PDA, and Computer. It is compact and portable, eliminating the need for cables and physical connections between electronic devices. The Bluetooth USB Adapter transmission ensures both protection from interference and secured data transfers. Simply plug the USB Adapter into the USB port and enjoy the freedom and flexibility of Bluetooth wireless technology.

Features

• Build-in 128-bit encryption security for communications between Bluetooth devices
• Synchronize devices in Personal Area Network (PAN) automatically to keep data consistent
• Plug & Play and Easy Installation
• Connection range up to 10 meters (33 ft.)
• 1-Year Warranty

Benefits

• Integration Friendly: Drivers support Windows Operating Systems.
• Economical: Save time, labor, and material for network cable installation.
• Flexible: Connects PC, Laptop, Cellular Phone and PDA to share data, files and information in Personal Area Network quickly and easily.
• Performance: Data Transfer Rate up to 723 Kbps

Product Description

TRENDnet's TBW-101UB Bluetooth USB Adapter allows you to make short-range wireless connections between your computer and Bluetooth enabled devices such as Cellular Phone, PDA, and Computer. It is compact and portable, eliminating the need for cables and physical connections between electronic devices. The Bluetooth USB Adapter transmission ensures both protection from interference and secured data transfers. Simply plug the USB Adapter into the USB port and enjoy the freedom and flexibility of Bluetooth wireless technology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works fine! It is worth buying if you have several bluetooth devices and like to use advantage of them!, March 30, 2006

By 

Leo Kim (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TRENDnet Bluetooth USB Adapter TBW-101UB (Blue) (Personal Computers)

I bought this adapter so I could use it with my PDA Tungsten T3 and cellphone Samsung T-809 bluetooth capabilities. The whole installation did not go flawlessly, however, so I had to download a new version of BlueSoleil program from the web in order to use the device on my laptop. Although this task was cumbersome and time-consuming, after the new version of BlueSoleil 1.6.1.4 was installed, the adapter has been working fine with both of my bluetooth devices and I am satisfied with the overall performance.
However, there are two things that you should concern about the bluetooth before you buy this.
1) Bluetooth is much slower than USB transfer speed. I can synchro files over bluetooth but it takes too much time, so instead of using the bluetooth I usually end up just plugging in USB between the devices.
2) Although not stated, you actually get (well at least I did) different-looking adapter than one that's picture is shown. However, don't worry. The one you get is more compact in size and even more portable.

If you are planning on using the bluetooth to transfer files in between the devices, get this bluetooth adapter. it does what it says. It is best to use bluetooth for your PDA just to surf some simple webs or update your Palm or PocketPC softwares.
However, if you are not a patient person, and if you hate to wait for those "copy..." "move..." boxes to disappear, avoid the bluetooth and go with USB cables. Wireless devices aren't that advanced yet in the connection speed.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an excellent product/price!, August 31, 2004

By 

Jay Riemenschneider (Roswell, GA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TRENDnet Bluetooth USB Adapter TBW-101UB (Blue) (Personal Computers)

I bought this hoping it would work with my mac even though reviewers said it would I couldn't understand why the manufacturer did not say it would. Anyway, plug and play pretty much. I had to do a couple of minutes of configuring, but I haven't had to think about it since and the range is way better than my other non-bluetooth wireless devices. I will never buy another wireless device that doesn't use this technology.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, February 23, 2004

By 

Seth Johnson (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TRENDnet Bluetooth USB Adapter TBW-101UB (Blue) (Personal Computers)

Even though the price is cheap, this bluetooth adapter delivers. I bought it from Amazon.com (with free shipping, it took merely two days to be delivered!).

It comes with a free USB extension cable in case it won't fit into your hub/computer with wires next to it (it is rather wide, but the extension cable more than makes up for it). The range is good: about the standard 10 meters (it has full range over the room that it's in).

Integration with Mac OS X is superb; it's merely plug and play for Macs, though I assume it is a lot less easy/reliable with Windows computers.

The one down point of Bluetooth is its low transfer rates: with it interfacing with my Sony Ericsson T616, it has an average bandwidth of 4KB/s. I suspect that it is the phone's fault (as it's not necessary to have very high bandwidth for such small files). Bluetooth's official rate is about 90 KB/s, so this is vastly underperforming.

However, due to the cheap price, free cable, and reliability of the TRENDware Bluetooth USB adapter, I give it 5 stars and recommend it to anyone with a Mac looking for a decent, cheap way to become Bluetooth-enabled.