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The bluetooth device that does nothing - very well!

What is the purpose of a Bluetooth dongle? It just sits there, being a dongle - so why does Cambridge Silicon Radio think it's worth ten times as much as any other Bluetooth device, ever?

Easy answer: testing. This is a standard "reference design" bluetooth dongle, designed to test whether you have produced something that works with Microsoft's PC operating system, Windows XP. You plug it into your reference PC, and then take your brand new prototype device, and see if it passes a few simple tests.

So it's not a "universal" device for testing; just for testing PC addons. It's described as an "Easy to use USB dongle, for easy testing of the compatibility of a Bluetooth device with Windows XP.

The dongle incorporates Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) BlueCore, one of only two radios selected by Microsoft as a benchmark for Bluetooth testing before products can receive the Designed for Windows XP Logo. The product is available now from CSR's website (www.csr.com).

Bluetooth developers can buy this dongle, complete with a test kit, and submit data to Microsoft's Windows Hardware Qualification Labs - and in return, if you pass, you get a certificate stating that you passed the Hardware Compatibility Tests, and a little logo to pin to your product.

"The NanoSira Reference Radio uses CSR's v1.1 HCI Bluetooth Software stack and supports scatternet and 7 slave piconet operation," said CSR. "This hardware and firmware has been selected by Microsoft as a Bluetooth host controller (radio) for performing the WHQL hardware compatibility tests (HCT). This firmware is digitally signed by CSR to prevent unauthorised firmware upgrades. The design is compact with outside dimensions of only 50 x 20 x 5mm while maintaining +4dbm output power and -82dbm receive sensitivity using a printed antenna."

But of course, this only tests profiles that Microsoft regards as important. It is unlikely, for example, that Microsoft includes the Cordless Telephony Profile ...