While Bluetooth’s emergence into the marketplace was probably over-hyped a couple of years ago, the short-range wireless connectivity technology is coming of age quickly.
Last week, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group excitedly released the latest Bluetooth numbers from IMS Research, which found that, globally speaking, about 9.5 million Bluetooth chips ship every week-almost double the 4.75 million that were shipping just four months ago.
“By doubling the Bluetooth shipments in just four months, Bluetooth technology has once again proved itself as the wireless technology for the personal area network,” said Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, an industry association that drives development and works to bring Bluetooth-related products to market.
Foley attributes the dramatic rise in shipments to high demand and sales of Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, headsets, car kits, personal computers and other products. For sure, high demand from consumers is due to interoperability among Bluetooth-enabled products, as users can mix and match products among brands and specific uses.
Charul Vyas, a senior wireless analyst at the NPD Group, determined that one in six devices sold during the third quarter of this year was Bluetooth-enabled. The group said that while Bluetooth adoption once was limited to GSM devices and carriers, today it’s a more common feature in CDMA phones, with both Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. having introduced new Bluetooth devices during the past year.
More handset manufacturers also are embracing Bluetooth. Vyas points out that European handset makers used to be the only ones producing Bluetooth-enabled devices, but now U.S. and Asian manufacturers, namely LG Electronics Co. Ltd. and Motorola Inc., are on board.
And it’s important to understand that the market for Bluetooth devices goes well beyond mobile phones and headsets-Bluetooth technology also is showing up in printers, digital cameras, laptops, PDAs, keyboards, mice-all widely used products.
But there are also less-predictable uses for Bluetooth. Take, for example, the case of Bluetooth-outfitted herds of cattle in Denmark. The Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, along with The Danish Cattle Research Center, worked with Blip Systems to develop BlipNet, a Bluetooth network that lets farmers automatically monitor the health of their livestock. Mobile sensors are placed on dairy cattle, and via Bluetooth, data is sent to farmers identifying hoof and leg diseases, as well as heat in the cattle based on changes in movement patterns and physiological information.
Automobiles are a more predictable recipient of Bluetooth technology as an increasing number of states outlaw the use of handheld mobile communication devices while driving. Car manufacturers are churning out Bluetooth-enabled vehicles in just about every price range-Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Ford (including Jaguar, Landrover and Mondeo), General Motors, Infiniti, Lincoln and Toyota (including Lexus, Landcruiser and Prius models) sell vehicles that have Bluetooth technology.
“We’ve seen tremendous uptake in Bluetooth-equipped cars,” noted Foley. “In early 2005, there were less than 10 models on the market with Bluetooth technology. Now, there are more than 40 models available.”
And there are after-market car-stereo systems that bring Bluetooth to your vehicle, making it possible to lay down your phone and take calls through the stereo. Many come with caller identification screens. For motorcyclists, there are Bluetooth-enabled helmets.
To help consumers make sense of the many and varied Bluetooth offerings, the SIG recently developed consumer programs that define and explain Bluetooth-enabled product capabilities.
“Our new consumer programs encourage similar implementations for different product categories and enhance the users’ understanding of expected performance,” explained Foley.
First and foremost, the Bluetooth SIG developed a set of icons that manufacturers will slap on products to define each product’s Bluetooth capabilities. Foley said that without standardized icons, consumers could be confused. Say, for instance, each company had a different icon representation of an iPod. The idea is that uniformity in labeling amongst manufacturers will boost consumer understanding, and likely their willingness to purchase products.
Along the same lines, the Bluetooth SIG also compiled recommended terminology for manufacturers. Foley said the user document has been translated into 34 languages.
In addition, Foley said that in early 2006, consumers will be able to access www.bluetooth.com to study up on the Bluetooth SIG’s consumer-education tools regarding what Bluetooth technology can do and how to do it.
Interestingly, the Bluetooth SIG also laid out two types of Bluetooth implementations: Basic and Best of Breed. Foley noted that in mobile phones, the Bluetooth SIG intends to publish the profiles recommended for the most comprehensive user experience in a Basic and a Best of Breed mobile phone.
With all this Bluetoothing comes certain security risks. Network Chemistry, a wireless network security solutions developer, points out that Bluetooth devices were once thought to be at low risk for attack since transmissions had to be close-range, about 30 feet. But Bluetooth transceivers are now available in different power classes, and some are comparable to 802.11 cards. Also, high-gain directional antennas can extend the range from which a device can be attacked to more than one mile.
As laptop purchases continue to surpass those of desktop computers, security becomes more difficult for IT managers to handle. Now, they aren’t just managing desktop computers networked to servers, they’re dealing with laptops that can travel all over the world, putting the network at risk every time a wireless connection is made.
“Until now, the industry has focused on security solutions for 802.11 networks, but it’s clear that the wireless threat is much larger,” said Christopher Waters, chief technology officer at Network Chemistry.
As consumers get acclimated to less wires and more Bluetooth connectivity, the continuous stream of new products likely will pick up speed.
According to Vyas, content such as music, videos, and wallpapers will soon be downloadable via Bluetooth, and the downloading has been made faster by the marriage of Bluetooth technology with ultra-wideband technology. With UWB, downloads can take place at speeds between 100 to 300 megabits per second-a lot faster than Bluetooth’s range of between 1 Mbps and 3 Mbps.
And in the medical industry, Bluetooth is being explored as it could be applied to hearing aids, heart monitoring equipment and brain scanners.
“2006 is going to be a very important year for Bluetooth,” commented Foley. “People are just starting to realize what the technology can do.”
