Larred
12-01-2004, 08:42 PM
http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20041126_154220.html
Bluetooth: Moving beyond the headset
By Wolfgang Gruener, Senior Editor
November 26, 2004 - 15:42 EST
Chicago (IL) - Bluetooth technology today is mainly known for enabling convenient wireless headsets. Other markets have seen little impact from the technology so far. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) hopes that speed, functionality, and security upgrades will move the tech out of its current niche.
Wireless networks with computers and consumer electronics devices are without doubt have been one of the dominating trends in the IT industry and will continue to do so for some time. While 802.11x tech, commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi", have become almost synonymous for anything wireless and heavily promoted throughout electronics stores, the "other" main wireless tech is far less familiar to consumers.
Bluetooth has entered the market at about the same time as Wi-Fi, but still has not managed to communicate how it is different and what it can do. "We are getting to a point, where people have a pretty good understanding of a Bluetooth headset for a mobile phone," said Dr. Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth-SIG, the development and standardization body of the technology.
In fact, Bluetooth is mainly known to be a standard feature in higher-end phones and often has been criticized to have become too "nichified" with the only popular application being convenient headsets. Foley agreed to this description of Bluetooth's current market position, but said that the technology has been extremely successful and will be able to use the cell phone as driving force for opening new markets and applications. "More than 1700 products already support Bluetooth. Every week, there are more than 3 million Bluetooth-enabled devices shipped. The strong position within the cell phone space does not only help to keep production cost down. This volume market also allows us to develop other classes of devices for the PC and peripherals," Foley said.
A key strategy to move into new markets will be new functionality. The SIG just completed its prototyping phase of "Enhanced Data Rate" (EDR) which adds coding schemes to the Bluetooth core technology and increases the bandwidth from one Mbit per second of the current Bluetooth spec 1.2 to three Mbit per second in the Bluetooth spec 2.0, which had been completed earlier this year. First products equipped with Bluetooth 2.0 are expected to appear on store shelves within the first half of next year.
More updates are on the way, including a core upgrade for the end of next year, which will bring more security such as privacy enhancements as well as the support of streaming applications. For 2006, the SIG plans to implement multicast capability to allow Bluetooth devices to send one signal to several receivers simultaneously. Additional privacy features will add a non-discoverability functionality of Bluetooth devices.
Foley believes that especially medical, automotive and print & imaging applications promise growth for Bluetooth. Popular DVD entertainment systems installed in minivans and SUVs are targeted to adopt multicast and stream audio to wireless headsets. Foley envisions the technology also to move into an "iPod-class of devices" in 2005 and 2006. Beyond 2006, Bluetooth could become an enabler to wirelessly control certain devices in a home: A phone for example could be used to arm and disarm a home security system.
Foley is careful to keep Bluetooth's roadmap in a safe distance from the development of Wi-Fi. For example, he doesn't believe Bluetooth will be a particularly useful solution in digital cameras: "It is simply not great for dumping large amounts of data, such as transferring five megapixel pictures from a 512 MByte storage card to a PC. It is simply too slow," Foley said. However, Bluetooth would remain the "best technology for personal area networks for the next number of years" and will promote its capabilities of transmitting audio.
Bluetooth: Moving beyond the headset
By Wolfgang Gruener, Senior Editor
November 26, 2004 - 15:42 EST
Chicago (IL) - Bluetooth technology today is mainly known for enabling convenient wireless headsets. Other markets have seen little impact from the technology so far. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) hopes that speed, functionality, and security upgrades will move the tech out of its current niche.
Wireless networks with computers and consumer electronics devices are without doubt have been one of the dominating trends in the IT industry and will continue to do so for some time. While 802.11x tech, commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi", have become almost synonymous for anything wireless and heavily promoted throughout electronics stores, the "other" main wireless tech is far less familiar to consumers.
Bluetooth has entered the market at about the same time as Wi-Fi, but still has not managed to communicate how it is different and what it can do. "We are getting to a point, where people have a pretty good understanding of a Bluetooth headset for a mobile phone," said Dr. Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth-SIG, the development and standardization body of the technology.
In fact, Bluetooth is mainly known to be a standard feature in higher-end phones and often has been criticized to have become too "nichified" with the only popular application being convenient headsets. Foley agreed to this description of Bluetooth's current market position, but said that the technology has been extremely successful and will be able to use the cell phone as driving force for opening new markets and applications. "More than 1700 products already support Bluetooth. Every week, there are more than 3 million Bluetooth-enabled devices shipped. The strong position within the cell phone space does not only help to keep production cost down. This volume market also allows us to develop other classes of devices for the PC and peripherals," Foley said.
A key strategy to move into new markets will be new functionality. The SIG just completed its prototyping phase of "Enhanced Data Rate" (EDR) which adds coding schemes to the Bluetooth core technology and increases the bandwidth from one Mbit per second of the current Bluetooth spec 1.2 to three Mbit per second in the Bluetooth spec 2.0, which had been completed earlier this year. First products equipped with Bluetooth 2.0 are expected to appear on store shelves within the first half of next year.
More updates are on the way, including a core upgrade for the end of next year, which will bring more security such as privacy enhancements as well as the support of streaming applications. For 2006, the SIG plans to implement multicast capability to allow Bluetooth devices to send one signal to several receivers simultaneously. Additional privacy features will add a non-discoverability functionality of Bluetooth devices.
Foley believes that especially medical, automotive and print & imaging applications promise growth for Bluetooth. Popular DVD entertainment systems installed in minivans and SUVs are targeted to adopt multicast and stream audio to wireless headsets. Foley envisions the technology also to move into an "iPod-class of devices" in 2005 and 2006. Beyond 2006, Bluetooth could become an enabler to wirelessly control certain devices in a home: A phone for example could be used to arm and disarm a home security system.
Foley is careful to keep Bluetooth's roadmap in a safe distance from the development of Wi-Fi. For example, he doesn't believe Bluetooth will be a particularly useful solution in digital cameras: "It is simply not great for dumping large amounts of data, such as transferring five megapixel pictures from a 512 MByte storage card to a PC. It is simply too slow," Foley said. However, Bluetooth would remain the "best technology for personal area networks for the next number of years" and will promote its capabilities of transmitting audio.