The name “Bluetooth” was adopted from a 10th century Danish King, Harold Blatand – or Harold Bluetooth.
King Blatand played a crucial role in correcting domestic conflict in parts of Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
The technology hoped to adopt what King Blatand had done – to easily connect devices despite being products of varying manufacturers.
Harald I Bluetooth (Danish Harald Blåtand) was the King of Denmark between 940 and 985 AD. Like many Vikings, Harald considered it honorable to fight for treasure in foreign lands. By 960 he was at the height of his powers, ruling over both Denmark and Norway.
Harald Bluetooth united Denmark and Norway, Bluetooth of today will unite the worlds of computers and telecom (hopefully longer than the few years Harald’s Viking kingdom survived).
In 1994 Ericsson Mobile Communications initiated a study to investigate the feasibility of a low-power low-cost radio interface between mobile phones and their accessories.