In its report, ‘Worldwide Bluetooth Semiconductor Market Forecast and Analysis, 2001-2006,’ IDC expects the Bluetooth semiconductor market to reach $2.6-billion in revenue by 2006.

Next year should mark the beginning of widespread adoption, IDC says, with Bluetooth-enabled handsets, equipped with either a add-on or embedded chip, capturing the largest segment of the market, representing about 51 percent by 2006.

IDC analyst Ken Furer says, "Add-on modules will still represent the majority of Bluetooth semiconductor revenues for the next couple of years; however, embedded form factors will become predominant by 2005."

Bluetooth-compatible headsets, used primarily with cellular phones, will secure $440-million in Bluetooth semiconductor revenue. Rounding out the top five technologies are desktop PCs, notebooks PCs, and accessories, the study notes.

According to Mr. Furer, the roll out of 2.5G/3G cellular networks and improved co-existence

with 802.11b/g wireless LAN are the key drivers behind the accelerated adoption of the short-range wireless technology.

Besides providing complete details on the growth of the Bluetooth semiconductor market, the report also examines all Bluetooth baseband, RF, and related memory semiconductor products going into key consumer and enterprise application markets.

For more information: http://www.idc.com

MobileInfo Advisory & Comments: Bluetooth market represents a legitimate market segment within the wireless industry infrastructure. While the trade press raises all sorts of doubts and debates of 802.11 versus Bluetooth, the pace of adoption and so on, saner voices (including ours at MobileInfo) believe that Bluetooth has definite advantages (simplicity, chip and antenna size, cost and battery power requirements) over 802.11x. We regard Bluetooth technology complimentary to 802.11x for short-range applications. Therefore, IDC forecast seems realistic.