Bluetooth not making the connection
individual.com
April 27, 2001
Richard Shim
Bluetooth will be taking a slightly smaller bite out of
the wireless-networking market than previously
expected, according to new projections.
Shipments of devices using the Bluetooth standard
will grow from less than 15 million this year to 955
million units in 2005, Cahners In-Stat Group
analyst Joyce Putscher said in a report released
Wednesday.
However, the estimates in the current report are
nearly one-third lower than those in last year's
report, in which Putscher projected shipments to hit
1.4 billion units in 2005.
Bluetooth is a short-range radio technology that
allows portable devices, such as personal digital
assistants (PDAs), cell phones and notebooks, to
communicate within 30 feet of one another without
wires.
The lowered estimate is the result of the delay
among manufacturers in getting products to market
and of the U.S. economic slowdown, Putscher said.
Manufacturers apparently have been overly
optimistic as to how long it will take to develop
products and how much it will cost.
Putscher still expects strong growth for Bluetooth,
however, because it can be used in a number of
ways and devices.
"The six to eight month delay in shipping, as well as
the economic situation, factored into the readjusted
figures. But Bluetooth lends itself to so many
different applications and so many popular devices,
such as phones, PDAs and notebook PCs,"
Putscher said.
The growth is expected despite the delays in
getting products to market, as well as a few failed
demonstrations of the technology--most notably at
this year's CeBit trade show in Germany. The
product delays have even resulted in the
technology's exclusion in Microsoft's upcoming
operating system, Windows XP.
Products using the Bluetooth standard should be
hitting the market very soon, Putscher said, and the
first trials are already appearing in hotels, shopping
malls, golf courses and airports.
"Trials are already underway in the executive
lounges of certain airlines, allowing travelers to
access the Internet, and in hotels, allowing guests
to register, pay and even open the door to their
room using their PDAs," Putscher said.
Putscher also expects that, even in 2005, people
who use Bluetooth will do so via cards and
adapters. But gradually, she said, the wireless
standard will be integrated into devices
themselves.
The Bluetooth standard has the backing of some
big names in the technology world, including 3Com,
Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Lucent, Microsoft, Motorola,
Nokia and Toshiba. This support, Putscher said,
practically guarantees some sort of a market
presence in the future. |
