Report/ Bluetooth Will Take Off - Eventually
individual.com
July 2, 2001
By Steve Gold, Newsbytes
LONDON, ENGLAND
A report due to be published next week says that the Bluetooth short-
range wireless network will take off into the mass market, but it will take a
few years.
The conclusion contrasts with some of the hype surrounding the wireless
personal area network, which was first "unveiled" by Ericsson, Intel and
other information technology (IT) companies in the late 1990s.
The Frost & Sullivan (F&S) Bluetooth report, which took in responses from
more than 120 IT managers and senior executives in companies in the
U.S., Europe and Asia, says that Bluetooth will have to overcome some of
the "teething troubles" that have affected its early development.
These, the 6,500 euro ($5,490) study says, include interoperability,
robustness, interference and perceived security flaws. Once these are
overcome, then Bluetooth can prosper.
Michael Wall, one of the researchers on the study, told Newsbytes that the
research was carried out over a three-month period, and took in a broad
spectrum of managers in various departments within companies.
One of the most interesting findings was that not all IT managers were
actually aware of the existence of Bluetooth. "This may have been
because managers tend to be pressed for time, so cannot keep up to date
with all aspects of IT," said Wall.
The study found that, in principle, end users are willing to embrace
Bluetooth technology, despite the confusion and caution that many users
have about the wireless short-range network.
The report said that many potential Bluetooth users see the technology as
a wireless local area network (LAN), and not a simple short-range
wireless network for use outside of traditional LAN applications.
This slight misperception, F&S says, could work against Bluetooth, as
companies with existing wireless LANs in place may not be willing to
make a further investment in Bluetooth.
The report adds that revenues from Bluetooth will take off, despite all the
worries, from $2 billion in 2001 to $333 billion a year in 2006. The study
concludes that Bluetooth device shipments will also leap from 4.2 million
to 1.01 billion during the same timeframe.
F&S' Web site is at frost.com .
Reported by Newsbytes.com, newsbytes.com .
11:43 CST
(20010629/Press Contact: Kristina Menzefricke, F&S Europe
+44-20-7343- 8376/WIRES TELECOM, ONLINE, BUSINESS/) |
