Bluetooth technology is something I’ve grown up with. Ever since I was a kid, I remember my dad having a Bluetooth earpiece in his ear 90% of the time. I honestly thought it was really cool back then. Today, we use Bluetooth with our phones, laptops, and even cars. In this article I’m going to take you on a journey back in time to when Bluetooth was invented.
When Was Bluetooth Invented?
In the early 90s, Jaap Haartsen was moved to the U.S., from the Netherlands, to work on advanced mobile communications at Ericsson after finishing his PhD. In 1993, He moved back to Europe to work at the Ericsson Mobile Terminal Division in Sweden. In 1994, he was asked to find a solution to short-range radio connections at distances of 3-4 meters away.
Haartsen realized that he had to create a new concept to fulfill his duties. He was working by himself until 1995. He was then joined by Sven Mattisson. The team grew up to 30 people when software was being developed.
How Bluetooth Got It’s Name
MC-Link was the initial name or codename of Bluetooth. “MC” was short for “Multi-Communicator Link“. The interesting thing about the name Bluetooth is that there’s a rich history behind it. Sven Mattisson and a co-researcher Jim Kardach went for a drink after a presentation in Canada; they discussed history and a book titled “The Long Ships” by Frans G. Bengtsson. They were fascinated by the hero’s father-in-law, King Harald Blatant. Harald Blatant was a 10th century Danish King, son of Gorm. Blatant unified Denmark and Norway under a single ruler then converted the Danes and Norwegians to Christianity. He was granted the nickname “Harald Bluetooth” by having a dark, dead tooth in his mouth. The unification of devices from different industries was much alike King Harald Bluetooth’s efforts of unifying Denmark and Norway under Christianity. They decided to pay homage to Harald by naming the service Bluetooth. Also, it would reference the fact that the technology was made in Scandinavia. Bluetooth was almost named Flirt beforehand, because of the meaning “getting close, but not touching“.
The name isn’t the only fact historically interesting to Bluetooth. The logo also has an interesting fact about it. Vikings in Scandinavia used a language writing system called “Younger Futhark“. Runes are letters within the Ruinic Alphabet (such as Younger Futhark). The Bluetooth logo today is the binding of the Hagall (ᚼ) and Bjarkan (ᛒ) which are King Harald’s initials.
When Was Bluetooth Released?
In 1999, the first Bluetooth specs were released. They were not received with much excitement. The speed of Bluetooth was compared to WiFi (no relation, but still was the case) which almost made Bluetooth obsolete. After various successes and achievements were made, Bluetooth became a household name. In the year of 2000 the first mobile phones with Bluetooth appeared (Ericsson T36), following in 2001, printers and laptops followed suit.
You can read the Inventor File of Jaap Haarsten to find out more information about the Bluetooth history here.
