Bluetooth
Now considered relics, the first Bluetooth handsfree headsets were revealed just two years before Gizmodo launched, and the first cellphones and laptops with built-in Bluetooth only started shipping to consumers the year before. Not having to hold a phone to your head during a long conversation was really all it took for consumers to welcome Bluetooth into their lives with open arms, but that was just the beginning of how useful it would become.
Today Bluetooth feels like that one employee who’s been with the company for 20 years, knows all the ins and outs of the organization, but is clearly overworked and trying its best to handle a heavy workload that grows with new responsibilities year after year. Everything from wireless headphones to speakers to gaming controllers to kids toys to appliances rely on Bluetooth to talk with each other and to our mobile devices. Open the Bluetooth settings on your phone and you’ll probably find a long list of devices that have at one time or another wirelessly connected to. The protocol is long overdue for a major overhaul, but no one’s going to let it retire any time soon given how critical it’s become.
