compatibility of Bluetooth module and Android devices

Question

I'd like to connect a Bluetooth module to PIC to communicate with Android devices what is the property that determines the compatibility between them , i could not find anything in the web from Android Bluetooth site , How to know if the Android device and the module i will choose will work together or not ? Please do n't mention to me Names of modules that will connect , i'd like to know how i can decide if it will connect or not.

Answer 1

It depends what kind of data you want to send. The Android will support any bluetooth profile listed on the developers site for the respective versions. I found some info here. Most common profiles will be supported. Then you just need a module that supports the profile you wish to use.

If you want to implement a UART type connection, then you need the SPP (Serial Port Profile). Many cheap modules are available which will do this, I personally use the HC-05 module for a few of my projects. You can get modules that connect to the uCs UART, SPI, and USB ports.

Other commonly used profiles are audio (A2DP), HID (Human Interface Device), etc.

Answer 2

As the other reply says, most of the cheap Bluetooth-to-serial modules out there talk SPP which is supported by all Android devices with Bluetooth. The main exception you should look out for is for modules that claim to be Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth 4.0. Not all Android devices support this, and as there's no SPP for BLE they use a weird proprietary protocol over GATT which requires extra code in your app. Also, Android devices that claim Bluetooth 4.0 support on the spec sheet don't necessarily support it reliably or at all, and versions of Android older than 4.3 require manufacturer-specific APIs for BLE.