Ever wondered why there are only a few devices that are able to communicate with the iPhone via bluetooth? The simple answer lies in the Apple Bluetooth Accessory Approval Process (ABAAP). In order to connect you device (e.g., headphones) the device must be registered with Apple and you must let Apple certify your device. I do not know about the details about this process (Apple is very tight-lipped on its hompage) but Apple has definitely the last word in this and deciding if you may connect your device via bluetooth to an iPhone or not.
While this might seem not very interesting, there is a small detail which deserves our attention. Believe it or not, Apple – officially- does not certify its own computer hardware (MacBook, iMac, MacPro) to connect via bluetooth to Apple’s iPhone. Wow! Apple is very strict on itself. Who would have thought this?
Strange as it might seem, there is reasoning behind this odd behavior. This trick prevents people from building software that directly accesses the iPhone over bluetooth (or USB). Using the iPhone as USB stick is one of the features, probable everybody would want. But, Apple has a strong grip on this and wants to control the content which is exchanged between the iPhone and Apple computers (I hope, I’ve written Apple computers in the correct way. There is an official Web page by Apple that defines how to use these trademark words properly. For instance, your are not allowed to use the word Macintoshes… Apple isn’t very tight-lipped on these things).

Your ikangai team

Tags: Apple, Approval, Bluetooth, External Accessories