Answer? The technology is in its infancy.

"Bluetooth is still in the early phase -- but late in the hype phase," Gartner Dataquest analyst Phil Redman told Wireless NewsFactor. "Bluetooth got hyped up because it needed a lot of support from a lot of different manufacturers."

Now that most of the big names in wireless -- and scores of other tech companies -- have signed on to the personal wireless networking standard, the question has become, how long it will take for Bluetooth-enabled products to enter the mainstream?

"I think we're not going to see mass Bluetooth shipments until 2005," Redman said. He indicated that price is the biggest obstacle right now to Bluetooth proliferation.

Nevertheless, Redman said he expects the technology to change our lives in 10 years.

Long in the Bluetooth

"Nearly all new technologies that promise to solve an important user need experience a curve of overhype, and, regrettably, Bluetooth wireless was no exception," Mike McCamon, chairman of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) marketing committee, told Wireless NewsFactor.

McCamon added: "This hype not only muddled the general understanding of the technology, but also has distorted measurements of success."

Still, McCamon takes issue with the fact that many are not energized by Bluetooth's rapid movement to a commercial technology.

"The Bluetooth wireless initiative has experienced great success to date, and actually has progressed from a paper specification to real products quite quickly, in comparison to other technologies," said McCamon. According to McCamon, digital cameras have been around since 1993, but are still outside of the mainstream.

"The Bluetooth SIG, by contrast, was formed in 1998, and the first specification was published late in 1999," McCamon said.

"There are many promising Bluetooth wireless applications available today, including cell phones, headsets, PC cards and laptops. There are also numerous innovative projects being pursued by those in the Bluetooth SIG, including work in the automotive, security and healthcare industries, he said.

Slow on the Corner

Yankee Group analyst Sarah Kim believes that Bluetooth players are in a slump right now because they are in a period of transition.

"I think many of the players are going to metamorphose into different beasts altogether," Kim told Wireless NewsFactor.

She estimates that 30 percent to 40 percent of the companies in the Bluetooth SIG are looking for funding right now. Most of those are technology companies because the product companies are much more stable, Kim said. (continued...)

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