|
News
Issue #2002 - 37
(September 2002)
(Updated
October 2, 2002)
MARKET
OUTLOOK
and TRENDS
Bluetooth to
Ride in 20 Percent of Vehicles by 2007, Study Says
Nearly 20 percent
of all new vehicles worldwide will contain embedded Bluetooth
hardware by 2007, according to the findings of a new Allied Business
Intelligence Inc (ABI) study. Future Bluetooth-based automotive
applications are poised to deliver new opportunities to all facets
of the industry from silicon vendors and hardware manufacturers, to
automakers and gasoline retailers, ABI said. DaimlerChrysler's
UConnect hands-free car kit, currently available as an option on
certain Chrysler vehicles, serves as Bluetooth's U.S. introduction.
Meanwhile in Europe, specific Saab and BMW models will also offer
Bluetooth hands-free car kits as options. Bluetooth silicon costs
currently run approximately $7, making the technology extremely
attractive to automakers, and ABI predicts costs will continue to
fall. While the first wave of Bluetooth devices in the vehicle will
center on telephony, newer applications will soon follow. These
include remote vehicle diagnostics, lower-cost telematics services,
advanced automotive safety systems, vehicle-to-vehicle
communications, and remote audio and video downloads into the
vehicle, among others. The ABI Study is called "Automotive
Wireless Networks: Examining the Proliferation of WLAN and PAN
Technologies into the Automotive Platform." (Source: allNetDevices)
Microsoft Adds Bluetooth Support to Windows XP
Microsoft during the past week released to manufacturers a
software update that adds Bluetooth support to Windows XP. Bluetooth
is a short-range radio technology that simplifies communications
among Net devices, and between devices and the Internet. It also
aims to simplify data synchronization between Net devices and other
computers. Microsoft said it believes that adding Bluetooth to
Windows XP will stimulate the increasing development and use of
wireless technologies, and that users will start to see an
increasing number of available Bluetooth devices. (Source: ZDNet News).
For more on this tem, go to Microsoft's Support of Bluetooth in Windows XP Makes Bluetooth More Credible
For more information: http://www.allnetdevices.com
and http://www.ZDNet.com
MobileInfo Comments and Advisory: Bluetooth
seems to be gaining ground. After showing some disdain during early
spring this year, Microsoft has stuck to its own-stated time table
for Bluetooth support. Delivery of Microsoft's support in Windows XP will
help Bluetooth community
greatly. This will enable millions of users of Windows to communicate via Bluetooth with mice, keyboards, mobile phones,
networks, and other Bluetooth-enabled devices, in a familiar and simple
manner. This will allow Windows applications developers to
communicate with Bluetooth devices using a familiar interface.
On the deployment side, Bluetooth has
an upper hand in smart phone category of handheld devices because of
cost and battery power - rightly so. In many of the universities and
a few enterprises, LANs employing Bluetooth access points are being installed.
Palm is testing a big campus-wide Bluetooth network. While security
solutions are coming along, well-integrated security is a serious problem here as
well. For Telematics, security is not a major issue.
Bottom line is that if appropriately
selected for a specific application and so long as it does not tread
on its big brother's (WiFi's) toes, Bluetooth should find its own niche
markets and applications. There is room for both.
Note: This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in
developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology
architectures. All trademarks used in this summary are
the property of their respective owners.
|
