Despite receiving plenty
of negative reports and bad press, Bluetooth, a short-range
radio interface, is headed for a brighter future, according to study
by research firm Cahners In-Stat Group.
Authors of the report "Access Anytime, Anywhere: Bluetooth
Will Make it So’!" forecast that demands of Bluetooth
- enabled devices will provide substantial opportunities for the
technology with Bluetooth-enabled equipment shipments reaching 955
million units in 2005. In addition, analysts predict that the
semiconductor sector will see Bluetooth radio and baseband silicon
generating $4.4-billion in 2005.
According to Joyce Putscher, director of the firm’s Consumer
and Converging Marketing and Technologies Group, there are positive
signs that the technology is moving forward, as more and more
silicon is now going into production and more products are closing
on production schedules and will be coming to market very soon. She
added, "The first hot spot projects have already appeared in
the hotels, shopping malls, golf courses, airports and more are
expected to come to fruition by the end of the year."
Overview of Findings
- Adapters and cards will lead market share in the short-term,
but will be surpassed by embedded Bluetooth solutions; however,
the adapter/card market will continue to maintain significant
market share well into 2005
- Integrated RF/Baseband chip solutions will continue to emerge
making significant gains in 2002 but will achieve very
significant gains by 2003
The report explores the full spectrum of the Bluetooth equipment
sector, including the following
- Market forecast of Bluetooth-enabled equipment through to 2005
- List of equipment and application players competitors within
each application area, including profiles and highlights of
their Bluetooth products
- Detailed five-year forecast for radio, baseband and
host-supported functional silicon solutions
- Forecast of the semiconductor sector along with profiles of
players
- Coverage of selected software issues and IP/design/protocol
stack players
For more information: http://www.instat.com/abstracts/mm/2001/mm0106bw_abs.htm
Mobileinfo Comments and Advisory: Bluetooth got huge
press during the last 18 months. Bluetooth Forum had over 1800
members in 4Q 2000 - most of them getting into it purely on
speculative basis. Bluetooth does have a potential to fill a niche
in short-distance multipoint connectivity space. However, it does
face problems of high prices, incompatibility and lack of software
support from major players like Microsoft. It faces competition also
from 802.11 wireless LAN vendors who have been at it for six years
by now. The two technologies are converging into each other's
territory. So long as, the two define their core market (Bluetooth
in 5-15 meter range - its original target and 802.11 wireless LAN
beyond that), both technologies will do well. There is nothing in
Bluetooth technology that we believe gives it an inherent
technological edge over wireless 802.11-compatible LANs. If it
forces the other party to lower its prices, we are all for it
That will expand the market - look for long term gains, not quick
profits.
This report should give product developers a good grounding to
allow them to weigh out various technological, silicon, performance
and economic issues. For enterprise IT professionals, basing
solutions on wireless LANs is a safer bet for the next 18 months.
This should not dampen the enthusiasm of Bluetooth product
developers but they must ensure that they can get cheap silicon.
