Bluetooth Goes Really Mobile

17 10 02

Nearly 20% 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.

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.

Besides cost, the key automotive driver is Bluetooth's continuing proliferation into mobile handsets.

Because the greatest portion of a handset's use is inside a vehicle, automotive OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are looking to link the handset with onboard systems.

Since Bluetooth car kits are relatively simple and inexpensive to install, OEMs are proactively installing them, realizing the growing probability they will be federally mandated.

While the first wave of Bluetooth devices in the vehicle will center around 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 new report, "Automotive Wireless Networks: Examining The Proliferation of WLAN and PAN Technologies Into The Automotive Platform," provides a comprehensive analysis of current and future automotive Bluetooth and 802.11 applications, from telephony and music downloading, to telematics and electronic toll collection.

The report, prepared by ABI Senior Analyst Frank Viquez, also supplies projections for Bluetooth and 802.11 automotive node and device shipments, and provides analyses of key market participants.