Bluetooth: the Next Big Thing?

Watch out Walt Mossberg, Al Roker's got your number on this whole "technology pundit for the common man" thing. He teamed up with Cat Schwartz on the Today Show to get to the bottom of this whole Bluetooth sensation that's sweeping the country. Will something finally dethrone infrared from its dominant role in our wireless lifestyle? Only time will tell. Video is after the break.

[Ryan @ Feb 21st 2008 1:28AM]

skinny Al Roker is dumb

[Naveed @ Feb 21st 2008 1:36AM]

well that segment was a few years late

[AJ in the East Bay @ Feb 21st 2008 1:38AM]

Yeah! Bring back Fatty Al, er, Fat Albert...never mind.

I liked how the linked site reads "Watching this quick segment...". I'm like, "QUICK segment?". There was nothing quick there, not even Al rockin out to the Beastie Boys.

Hadn't seen Cat since the days of TechTV...

[~~Tito~~ @ Feb 21st 2008 1:39AM]

Yes, yes it was late, about 7 years late. . .

[Mike Jenkins @ Feb 21st 2008 1:47AM]

Yes, I've been "Bluetoothing" for quite a while.

[Gorillamonk @ Feb 21st 2008 11:57AM]

yes...what did happen to cat? and what else can she do upside down? seems she's been training for some tech olympics.

[Dr. Evil @ Feb 21st 2008 12:24PM]

I heard there was a petition among African-Americans to officially certify Al Roker as white.

As a pre-emptive move, I'm starting a petition saying we don't want him either.

[brian @ Feb 21st 2008 1:42PM]

Make sure to post yesterdays segment to, its very informative. Its called "DVD: the next big thing?" it explores this technology that is sweeping the country, and the controversy surrounding storage of information on plastic discs.

[TJ Johnson @ Feb 21st 2008 1:36AM]

What's infrared? Frankly, if I can't see it, it doesn't exist.

Wires FTW!!

[Jordan @ Feb 21st 2008 1:41AM]

I think therefore I am.

[Austin @ Feb 21st 2008 1:51AM]

You obviously don't understand what is happening in the picture above. Yes, bluetooth is a wireless communication technology, but what you don't know is that it is a spirit that needs to be summoned. by pressing a few buttons, or in Al Roker's case, calling it down from heaven with a woman as human sacrifice.

[Gavin @ Feb 21st 2008 5:39AM]

austin, funniest comment i've ever read on engadget.

[Bryan Thornsberry @ Feb 21st 2008 1:37AM]

Fantastic. This should finally end the dilema I face at my store when all the jobless slobs who can stay at home to watch this crap come in asking the tewnty-thousand dollar question of "whats a bluetoof.", followed by "how much."

Not saying ignorance isn't widespread beyond that demographic...

[Sam Winter @ Feb 21st 2008 6:18AM]

hahahh

[animeGhost @ Feb 23rd 2008 3:28PM]

hey its better than a having a customer asking "whats better, plasma or hdtv"

[nxtiak @ Feb 21st 2008 1:37AM]

Must be a slow news day for them... BT headsets really? If it was 5 years ago great, but today when every joe six pack walks around like a fool with one in his ear????.
sigh.

[TJ Johnson @ Feb 21st 2008 1:39AM]

It doesn't matter how old the stuff on your show is if no one watches your show in the first place.

Well, except those idiots in the window behind the set. Wait, did I just inadvertently admit to something here?

[Tony @ Feb 21st 2008 2:32AM]

Slow news day? No my friend, this is part of the plan.

Bluetooth, Blu-Ray, can't you see the connection!?

[prisoner 01 @ Feb 21st 2008 1:38AM]

hi and welcome to 1998

thank you and good bye

[meike @ Feb 21st 2008 1:22PM]

thats what she said.

[Aaron @ Feb 21st 2008 1:38AM]

Ow, it hurts, it hurts.

[nxtiak @ Feb 21st 2008 1:41AM]

So, what kind of laptop is that?
Is that the DELL M1330 LIKE IT SAYS ON THE SCREEN REALLY BIG?!?!?!?

[nxtiak @ Feb 21st 2008 1:44AM]

Wait, is that Cat Schwartz from the good 'ol days of TechTV????
If it is, I remember her as being much more hotter.

[ZeroCorpse @ Feb 21st 2008 1:57AM]

That's because you're thinking of her nekkid pictures, and because she's about a decade older now, and has probably squeezed out some puppies and is taking a break from looking hot.

[Rae @ Feb 21st 2008 1:44AM]

isnt bluetooth when you eat a blue raspberry icy? ?

i keed i keed

[Len @ Feb 21st 2008 1:48AM]

oh man that rocking was funny :)))
why making such a big deal of bluetooth so late ... it has been out for years and it has been awesome for years ...

oh that printing took FOREVER .. they didn't even show it :S

[wlp @ Feb 21st 2008 1:51AM]

do people who actively read engadget need a how to on bluetooth?

[Jason Martin @ Feb 21st 2008 1:53AM]

Come on, guys. This is the Today Show! Of course they're wowed by them new fangdangle things, like Bluetooth and flashing lights. It's the "People Magazine" of television. Mocking them for their lack of tech-savvy is like shooting fish in a barrel. Move along. Nothing really out of the ordinary here.

[Alex R @ Feb 21st 2008 3:26AM]

@ Jason Martin
Why would anybody ever need to shoot fish in a barrel? It would waste bullets, put holes in your perfectly good barrel (that would drain the water and kill them anyway)and why bother shooting them becasue you have already caught them - hence they are trapped in a barrel. Silly phrase really.

[Jason Martin @ Feb 21st 2008 3:47AM]

Exactly to the point.

[webon @ Feb 21st 2008 1:55AM]

is bluetooth similar to sweet tooth?

[TJ Johnson @ Feb 21st 2008 2:00AM]

Shhh!! Never mention sweet tooth out loud. It makes Roker angry.

[ZeroCorpse @ Feb 21st 2008 1:55AM]

Next Week on the Today Show:

Monday: We look at "HD-DVD", a cool new type of videotape.
Tuesday: Criss Angel makes his credibility disappear.
Wednesday: Remember "Pong"? Well now there's something called "Playstation" and it's WAY more sophisticated than "Pong"!
Thursday: Tom Cruise explains his importance to the universe, and shares cooking secrets.
Friday: New teen slang. Do you know what "fo' shizzle" REALLY means? A report you can't miss!

[peter @ Feb 21st 2008 2:28AM]

come on people give some credit to zerocurpse

[Ferny @ Feb 21st 2008 2:05AM]

"who wants my pictures?"

certainly not me.

[johnnychipface @ Feb 21st 2008 2:30AM]

Yeah but I like the way Al was like "Ah well, I don't know. Depends on what the pictures are." - Translation "I want to see your gash".

[tiuk @ Feb 21st 2008 2:07AM]

Alright, yeah, we can all have a laugh at the thought of people who still haven't heard of Bluetooth. The sad truth is, a large percentage of the population (I won't even try to guess) hasn't heard of it, and this is a quick way of getting them interested. I can tell you for a fact that my mom has no idea what bluetooth is, but if she were to see something like this she might be interested in getting a headset or something (not likely in my mom's case, but you can see where I'm going with this).

Also, I give them credit for at least mentioning the possibility of bluejacking.

[Kushari.org @ Feb 21st 2008 2:11AM]

"you can walk around your house talking on your cellphone" and i couldnt have done that before? she should have rephrased it to have all phone calls from all devices hands free.

[DP @ Feb 21st 2008 2:13AM]

"Talk to each other." -- truly hilarious.

[johnnychipface @ Feb 21st 2008 2:30AM]

Blind leading the blind.

[LegendZ28 @ Feb 21st 2008 2:36AM]

You guys seem to be missing the boat on just who the audience of this show is.

[jdeuel @ Feb 21st 2008 2:37AM]

Why do tech folks have to be such dicks to nontech folks?

Head over to whatever car news site google turns up first and look at how many times they insult your car-illiteracy

Instead of masturbatory "Ho ho, those stupid tech people couldn't even reassemble a drive train"'s, they focus on the news.

[skulldriveshaft @ Feb 21st 2008 3:08AM]

"why do tech folks have to be dicks to non-tech folks?"

You mean, why are non-tech folks dicks to tech folks.

Why do "nerds" get picked on in schools?

Dilbert and The Pointy Haired Boss are a prime example.

Let's move on, Al Roker is keepin his job, and probably received enough requests for an explanation of bluetooth.

[Mike @ Feb 21st 2008 3:20AM]

That's because tech people haven't ran a TV segment called "Drivetrains: the new kid on the block that allows your steering wheel to modify your car's direction." If we did do something like that, I guarantee you car lovers would make fun of it.

It's not like we're asking them to reassemble a Bluetooth module on the spot (which is what they'd have to do for your analogy to work correctly).

[spacegravity4me @ Feb 21st 2008 3:39AM]

Because it's our revenge for all those years in school! So suck it!0 Technologically illiterate, ignorant non-nerd person! ;P

[jdeuel @ Feb 21st 2008 4:15AM]

yeah, i'm sure none of you ever called anyone a "jock" or "prep"

[johnnychipface @ Feb 21st 2008 4:27AM]

The problem is that people are being spoken to as retards.

[Berto @ Feb 21st 2008 2:38AM]

So this "bluetooth thing" works when the nanotechnologies "talk" to each other, right? And we're morally against it?

[Neil Bradley @ Feb 21st 2008 2:45AM]

Someone should get this guy in touch with Rick Romero.

[Kyanges @ Feb 21st 2008 2:58AM]

"Bluetoothing". New non-verb for the 21st century.