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Bluetooth Technology
The Current State of
the Technology (circa mid 2000)
Bluetooth technology has moved fast in
terms of standards adoption, early release of chip sets and a few demo
products. Nonetheless, Bluetooth is in early stages of development from the
point of view of its adoption in enduser applications.
To be more specific, Bluetooth
technology is in a period where first release of specifications have been
developed and adopted by the core members. Chips sets have been developed by
several vendors and have been released to systems integrators. Software
development kits have also been released by major vendors. A number of
developers conferences have been held in Europe and North America. Now, the
second level of developers like 3COM and extended Systems have got into the
act to develop systems development tools that business application
developers can use.
Some product demonstrations during 2000:
- The Ericsson Bluetooth Headset is a
lightweight, wireless mobile phone headset, with a built-in Bluetooth
radio chip that acts as a connector between the headset and the
Bluetooth plug on the Ericsson phone. When your phone rings, you can
answer by simply pressing a key on the headset. If you want to make a
call, press the key on the headset and use voice recognition to initiate
the call. The phone can be up to 10 meters (30 ft.) away, in a
briefcase, your coat pocket, or even in another room while you speak and
enjoy complete mobility without cables dangling about. Weighing a mere
20 grams (0.75 oz.), the Bluetooth Headset sits comfortably on either
ear and can be used with Ericsson T28, T28 WORLD and R320 cellular
phones.
- Nokia displayed a Bluetooth headset that
allows users wireless communication with their mobile phones over
distances of up to 10 metres.
- Nokia and Fujifilm have been developing a
prototype Mobile Imaging technology, allowing a modified Nokia 9110
Communicator containing a Bluetooth chip to receive images taken on a
Bluetooth equipped Fujifilm digital camera. After adding a few lines of
text, the user can send the received photograph to another Nokia
Communicator, or to the Fujifilm Web service, where it could be viewed,
printed or saved on a CD-R. By combining the ease of SMS messaging with
digital photography, Mobile Imaging is a clear indication of the
potential of Bluetooth.
- The AutoPC is a Windows CE-based device
that combines a computer with a car radio. It uses voice recognition
technology to enable hands-free communication for the driver and enables
mobile devices such as phones, PDAs, notebooks, pagers and so on to be
docked.
- Xircom demonstrated the capabilities of
its Compact Flash product by transferring voice data file between two
Windows CE palm-sized PCs at a data rate of 721kB/sec. The device looks
like any ordinary Compact Flash card, with the exception of a square
plastic antenna attached to one end.
Some Bluetooth enabled products in the
market:
Ericsson R520 Bluetooth/WAP/GPRS/Triband
Ericsson T36 Bluetooth/WAP/HSCSD/Triband
Alcatel OneTouch 700 GPRS, WAP, Bluetooth
TDK Bluetooth Product Range
Bluetooth-enabled Nokia 9110 linked to a
FujiFilm digital camera
Ericsson Bluetooth GSM Headset
Ericsson Communicator
MobileInfo's Advisory and
Comments:
There is significant hype about
Bluetooth. It is not unlike WAP. The PR machinery of Bluetooth community,
vendors and developers would make you believe that Bluetooth is going to
solve all the problems of short-distance connectivity without wires at a low
cost and in the near future. They may also not acknowledge any overlap
with 802.11 wireless LAN or HomeRF technologies. Reality is a little bit
different than the glossy Powerpoint presentations and speeches by eloquent
VPs of marketing for these vendors. We advise the user organizations to
apply a bit of caution to some of these claims. Here is our assessment:
-
With the momentum going at
this speed and R&D dollars committed, we should expect during 2001 a
reasonable set of products at silicon level, chip level and device
adapter level that the systems integrators can utilize in the finished
products for enduser devices - from smart phones to laptops.
-
The prices of
Bluetooth-enabled components will remain high during first part of 2001and this will
delay widespread adoption. By December, the prices had come down both as
a result of ramp of production but also due to single chip
implementations and general downturn in the economy.
-
Increased competition and
production will bring the prices down in 2002.
-
Distance limitation of
Bluetooth in the first version will limit its use to close-range
applications only. From systems engineering perspective, we do not see
much conflict with wireless LAN applications and Bluetooth. The former
is well-tested technology spanning much longer distances and higher
speed. Let us not get into fruitless arguments and use appropriate
technology where its core applications are. Also, expect 802.11 wireless
LAN adapters to decrease in prices.
-
Bluetooth will inevitably go
through a phase where real experience will fall short of the promise it
held.
-
The number of 1000 plus
vendors will shrink to, may be, 100 plus who will survive the
rationalization that will follow in 2002-2003 time frame.
Therefore, stay with vendors who have holding power or those who have
great alliances. Otherwise you will have to say goodbye to your initial
Bluetooth experimentation.
-
Security standards for
Bluetooth are still in a formative stage. Which devices talks to
which and how do users allow or deny access to other Bluetooth devices
as they approach them is still not clear - it is still being discussed
at SIG level in 802.15 subgroup of IEEE. Therefore, there is still
a gap between the cup that holds Bluetooth Elixir and the lip that must
sip it to reach short-distance connectivity salvation.
Status of Bluetooth at the end of
2002
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