Bluetooth pairings

What it is, physically

Nothing physical on the desk. Bluetooth is a radio standard defined by the Bluetooth SIG, which publishes the core specification and its version history. A pairing occupies no socket, which is the entire appeal, and depends on a radio in the machine, which is the entire risk.

What can be inside the same shell

• A device whose listing states Bluetooth and nothing else.
• A device whose listing states Bluetooth and a receiver, leaving the choice to you.
• A device whose listing states a Bluetooth version, which in this catalog is unusual.
• A device whose listing states no connection at all, which in this catalog also happens.

Who decides, and where it is published

The Bluetooth SIG publishes the core specification and maintains the list of released versions. A version number stated in a listing can be checked against that list; a listing that states no version leaves nothing to check.

Reading a listing that uses this word

A Bluetooth-only device costs zero ports and one assumption. The assumption is about the machine, not the device, and it is the only item in this whole catalog that cannot be checked by reading a listing at all — it is checked by looking at the machine.