Bluetooth and Mobile Data Devices

Bluetooth and Mobile Data Devices

Alternate Title: "Why I Think Bluetooth Will Eat the SmartPhone's Lunch"

What is Bluetooth?

To grossly over-simplify: Bluetooth is a replacement for cables.

Bluetooth is a short-range (under 10 meters) wireless technology designed for low cost and power consumption. It operates in the unlicensed 2.4GHz band, the same frequencies utilized by 802.11b networks, modern cordless phones, and a variety of consumer devices.

Why Bluetooth?

The original hype for Bluetooth was that it would replace all of the cables used to connect devices and peripherals. For instance, your keyboard, mouse, printer and PDA docking station would use Bluetooth instead of USB to communicate with your PC.

In the early days of Bluetooth, the media often portrayed it as a competitor to the (then fledgling) 802.11b standard. This scenario was laughable, and has long since been dismissed. 802.11b is designed to connect PCs to each other and wired networks over moderate distances at reasonably high speeds. Bluetooth is targeted at device to device communicates over short distances at relatively slow speeds.

In the US market today, there are very few Bluetooth-enabled devices. Consumers will likely have their first exposure to Bluetooth in the form of cellular phones. Motorola's Timeport 270c CDMA phone is presently available and can be upgraded to Bluetooth, while their forthcoming Timeport 280i GSM phone will have Bluetooth included.

Bluetooth and Cellular Phones?!

Bluetooth on a cellular phone serves two purposes: allowing the phone to communicate with accessories, and allowing the phone to be used as a computer (or PDA) accessory. Bluetooth headsets are already available in the US, car speakerphone kits should be available shortly. With these sorts of devices, the phone can be used while remaining in a pocket or briefcase.

With a Bluetooth-enabled computer or PDA it is possible to manage information on the phone (SMS, phonebook, ring tones, etc), or use it to go online.

Taking The Internet Mobile

The mobile data market is extremely hot at the moment. Cellular carriers have begun providing moderately fast Internet service using GPRS and 1xRTT technologies in the major markets. Combination Voice / Data devices such as the Handspring Treo 180, Danger HipTop, Microsoft SmartPhone, and BlackBerry 5810 have been receiving a great deal of press. With the exception of the BlackBerry, each device is marketed at the general consumer market and is (or will be) available for purchase at popular retail establishments.

Why Combination Devices Are Bad

First and foremost, combination devices tend to be very expensive. The BlackBerry is expected to sell for $499. The Handspring Treo 180 sells for $399 with contract and carrier subsidy, $549 without. The not-yet-available Treo 270, which adds a color screen, is projected to go for $599 with contract. Microsoft SmartPhone-based devices will likely cost significantly more due to the processor and memory requirements of the platform.

(Danger's HipTop is aimed at the lower end of the market. It will be relatively inexpensive, but it is also not a general-purpose PDA. It uses it's own OS and applications. For these reasons it will be ignored for the rest of this column. The BlackBerry as well, since voice is not an intended primary use)

Secondly, combination devices represent compromises in size and shape. The trend in cellular phones and PDAs has long been that "smaller = better." Nokia's 8200 series exemplifies this, as does the staying power of the Palm V and it's successors. However, a PDA of the Nokia 8210's dimensions would be of limited usability.

The Bluetooth Threat

At least one PDA with integrated Bluetooth is already available in the US, Compaq's iPaq 3870, and Bluetooth can be added to existing an existing PDA easily. Cellular phones with Bluetooth plus GPRS or 1xRTT haven't reached the American market yet, but they will be here well in advance of the first Microsoft SmartPhone.

How does this threaten combination devices? Quite simply, Bluetooth eliminates the barriers to using a PDA with a cellular phone. Gone is the need to purchase expensive data cables that are prone to breakage and loss, or the futility of trying to keep Infrared ports aligned. Instead, Bluetooth will provide the connection.

Gone too is the awkwardness of keeping a PDA and cellular phone in close proximity in order to use them together. With Bluetooth there is no need to remove the phone from it's normal resting place in a pocket, purse, or briefcase in order access the Internet from a PDA.

Huh? What Was That?

Bluetooth makes it easy to connect a PDA will a cellular phone. As Bluetooth devices become more prevalent, consumers will be faced with a choice: buying a combination device that is neither the ideal PDA nor cellular phone available, or opting instead for individual devices that best address their specific needs.

Alternate take: At this stage in the evolution of combination devices, most buyers will already own a PDA. Many may not be ready to replace the PDA that they already use. Purchasing a Bluetooth add-on for the PDA along with a new Bluetooth + GPRS or 1xRTT phone may be a more logical, not to mention cheaper, path towards achieving mobile Internet bliss.

That is certainly the route that this consumer intends to take.

For More Information

This is hardly a comprehensive list of links, however, it should provide you with a good start towards learning more about the technologies discussed in this article.

On this site:

Assorted:

Bluetooth:

GPRS:

1xRTT:

Combination Devices:

the

Last update: 6/29/2003; 8:14:00 PM.
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