Bluetooth is coming!

Incidentally, the standard's name points to its Nordic origin (the standard was originally proposed by Ericsson and Nokia). Bluetooth was a medieval king credited with uniting all of Scandinavia.

To read all about this important new technology, and the companies that are involved, click your browser on :

The official Bluetooth website

The above extract is part of my new article which is published in the July 2000 issue of Controls Intelligence & Plant Systems Report. Take a look at the complete article on the web at :

The Intelligent Connected Appliance

eFeedback - Bluetooth

"The Bluetooth standard has been "hot" here in Europe for at least a year, and has been part of the European telecom surge. I am convinced that the use of standards such as Bluetooth will make things very different on the factory floor. I hope to see more instruments with Bluetooth chips. This will make it very easy to walk around and "communicate" with equipment around you. It will surely minimize the use of cables"

"Bluetooth has four major problems : 1/ It has a very short range; 2/ It is expensive and will never come down in price; 3/ It has a limited number of nodes; and 4/ It has a long development cycle. I think there is a better chance of cell phone RF coming down in price and converging with the LAN market before Bluetooth can really take off.

“One more thing : The reason people think Bluetooth is great is that the price is amortized over a cell phone license. People never see the cost because it is subsidized by a lease agreement. This business model will begin to proliferate to any major purchase. I wouldn't be surprised to see leases for kitchen appliances in the next five years."

"For Bluetooth, it's still teething time. Despite efforts from industry giants to get products based on the wireless protocol to market by next year, the new technology still faces obstacles."

Take a look at the eWeek Bluetooth coverage

Extract from JimPinto.com eNews - 9 November, 2000

Bluetooth Products are coming !

Read Bluetooth is Coming

Using Bluetooth, you can link your cell phone to your notebook computer without any wires - to update your email files just before you board a plane. As you relax in your seat, you can listen to MP3 music from the laptop in your briefcase on a hands-free headset. Or, better still, since an airplane is an ideal "local area", the airline will provide Bluetooth headsets for music and movies, without those annoying wires or audio-tubes. Soon, we'll begin to see cars with Bluetooth networking factory-installed - the car's 'hands-free' kit will automatically make use of the phone in your pocket or briefcase! And of course, secure encryption disallows others from accessing your private information.

Bluetooth product directions - PCIA GlobalXChange conference

PCWorld.com Review of Bluetooth Directions

The Motorola 270c Bluetooth-enabled CMDA cell phone will, in addition to several "conventional wireless" features, use Bluetooth to provide short-range personal area networking.

Take a look at the Motorola 270c which has Bluetooth connectivity

Neat hands-free headset from GN Netcom

A new pen let you use pen and paper together with all the possibilities of information technology - you can handwrite write a letter on a notepad and send it off as an email; write the address and tick the designated box. The pen holds an ordinary ink cartridge, with writing visible to the eye just like a normal pen. A force-sensor measures the stylus tip force and the position on the pad is monitored as you write. Every sketch or note can be faxed or e-mailed.

Take a look at the Anoto pen

But, like anything else, there are obstacles. eWEEK Labs takes a look at some of the hurdles that Bluetooth technology still faces.

Bluetooth still faces hurdles