• Bluetooth Internet

    Even if you have a Wi-Fi card for your laptop, sometimes you're not in range of a useable Wi-Fi network. If you want to use the Internet, this can slow you down a bit. But with a Bluetooth laptop and Bluetooth mobile phone, it doesn't have to stop you in your tracks.

    Here's how to turn your Bluetooth mobile phone into a modem that your Windows XP laptop can use to dial up the Internet:

    1. Turn on the mobile phone and the connection software.

    2. Set the Bluetooth phone mode to "discoverable." (This lets devices that haven't been paired with the phone "see" it.)

    3. On your Windows XP laptop, go to "My Bluetooth Places"

    4. Choose "View Devices in Range."

    5. Once the laptop finds the phone, you should see an icon for it appear.

    6. Right-click on the mobile phone icon.

    7. Choose "Discover Available Services"

    8. Right-click on "Dial-Up Networking"

    9. Choose "Connect Dial-Up Networking"

    10. On the mobile phone, respond to the question asking whether you want to accept or decline the connection request or add to paired. (If you add the phone to paired, you won't have to go through all these steps again. The laptop and phone will automatically connect whenever they're in range.)

    11. If pairing the devices, select a PIN code for an added layer of security.

    12. Enter your user name, password, and ISP's phone number in the appropriate fields of the dialogue box.

    13. Click on the dial button and you'll connect to the net.

    14. Don't forget to take the mobile phone off "discoverable" mode if you don't want anonymous people sending you messages.

    Here are a couple of common questions that may come up during this process. The answers are under the questions.

    Q: When should I choose to pair the laptop and the mobile phone?

    A: If both devices belong to you, and you want this capability to be always available, go ahead and pair the laptop with the mobile phone. If you're just borrowing a friend's phone or computer, then skip the pairing process and simply set this up as a one time connection.

    Q: What if my mobile phone is Bluetooth enabled but my laptop isn't?

    A: Both products need to be Bluetooth enabled for this to work. However, you can purchase a Bluetooth USB adapter that will plug into the USB port of your laptop computer. You can then connect the phone to the USB device and use the connection just as though the laptop were Bluetooth enabled.