Nearly Two Billion Bluetooth Chipsets to Ship in 2014
Nearly two billion Bluetooth chipsets are forecast to ship in 2014 alone, according to new market data released by ABI Research. More than half will be found in wireless handsets. In the same year, almost 1.5 billion Wi-Fi chipsets are expected to ship and again, more than one third of that total will be used in handsets.
“Several factors are driving the strong growth in Bluetooth and even more in Wi-Fi chipset markets,” notes practice director Philip Solis. “Average selling prices for both technologies continue to fall. Wi-Fi will get a big boost from Wi-Fi Direct, which allows direct peer-to-peer communication between devices at short range. Finally, the ubiquitous Bluetooth is increasingly found in combination with a variety of other technologies, including FM radio, GPS, and Wi-Fi.
"Combining Bluetooth with other technologies in a single chipset helps reduce costs,” says Solis. “It also saves space in devices such as handsets where that may be a precious commodity. In 2014, Bluetooth will be found in 70% of all handsets and 83% of all netbooks.”
Bluetooth will also increasingly be supplemented by the newer “BLE” or Bluetooth Low-Energy. [ABI Research]
Nearly 30 Million Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Chipsets to Ship in 2010
Later this year, the first specification for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) will be published and products will follow shortly afterwards. The technology is set for stellar adoption.
According to a new ABI Research study examining the potential for Bluetooth Low Energy, in 2010 alone nearly 30 million BLE chipsets will ship. That is an extraordinary adoption rate for any new technology. But given the array of competitors it faces, questions remain about just how far the technology will be able to penetrate and compete in existing and emerging wireless application markets.
“BLE will see extremely rapid and widespread adoption because it combines with an established technology and supports a new generation of applications and connectivity for mobile handsets around the world,” says ABI Research principal analyst Jonathan Collins.
The technology will be incorporated in the Bluetooth ICs at a relatively minimal additional cost to the handset vendors that will embed them in their products. Even so, the benefits from BLE applications extend to mobile handset users, handset manufacturers, mobile network operators, online applications developers and others, as applications ranging from sports and wellness body monitoring, entertainment remote controls, PC peripheral connectivity and more, all become manageable from the mobile handset.
But while BLE adds functionality to mobile handsets and further places handsets at the center of daily life, success will depend upon the uptake of BLE in these devices. Here the technology faces a number of competing offerings.
“BLE offers significant potential for a range of industries and technology players to benefit from its installation in mobile handsets,” Collins notes, “but its success is not a fait accompli. Without a broad and thorough understanding of the ecosystem required to support BLE adoption, and the application and market environment within which BLE will have to compete, some of that potential could be lost.” [ABI Research]
Portable Music Devices Are the Fastest-Growing Bluetooth Market
While cellular handsets/headsets continue to make up the largest share of the massive Bluetooth market, according to a recent report from ABI Research portable music devices constitute the fastest-growing segment.
“Cellular handsets continue to account for about 60% of today’s 1.2-billion unit market,” says senior analyst Doug McEuen, “but the prize for rapid market growth definitely goes to portable music devices. Bluetooth shipments for these products are expected to grow from a mere 550,000 in 2006 to more than 80 million in 2013. That represents a compound annual growth rate of 104%.”
While iPods do not yet come with embedded Bluetooth, McEuen credits Apple’s iconic music player with continuing to carry this part of the Bluetooth market on its coat-tails. “When looking at the issue of functionality, it becomes clear that Bluetooth is likely to be positioned as a key differentiator that Apple’s competitors will use in order to garner market share,” he notes. Many other MP3 players do offer Bluetooth and others offer third-party Bluetooth products for the aftermarket.
A further development is the increasing inclusion of music players into cellular handsets. Bluetooth is already a standard feature on most cellular handsets. As music functionality is increasingly incorporated into phones, the logical extension is to provide both the hands-free functionality and music functionality through one headset.
“Bluetooth: The Global Outlook” addresses all major applications and variations of Bluetooth, and discusses other wireless connectivity IC integration. Providing the most comprehensive look at the Bluetooth market available today, the report also includes extensive analysis of the equipment and semiconductor markets. [ABI Research]
Top Consumers’ Lists “Must Have” Features on Mobile Phones: Cameras, Bluetooth, and Music
Digital camera functionality, Bluetooth connectivity, and music/radio playback on mobile phones are the top three features that consumers consider essential for the next mobile phone they will purchase, according to a recent ABI Research survey of 1,402 current wireless subscribers in seven countries. The desire for camera phones with 2+ megapixels leads the pack with 47% of consumers listing this feature as a “must have,” followed by Bluetooth at 34% and music/FM radio functionality at 32%.
However, says Clint Wheelock, vice president and chief research officer, “Our survey results identified some surprising differences between markets. Camera phones, for example, were more than twice as important for consumers in Taiwan versus those in the US. Similarly, Bluetooth is considered essential by mobile subscribers in Western Europe and Taiwan, but penetration of this feature is very low in Japan and South Korea, so it’s of little importance to consumers in those countries.”
Other key findings from ABI Research’s global wireless consumer survey are as follows:
- “It’s still a voice-centric world,” says Wheelock. Consumers across all mature markets still choose their mobile operator based on “the basics”: price, friends/family on the same network, and network coverage.
- The three most common features that subscribers have on their current mobile phones are: games (64%), Internet access (61%), and 2+ megapixel cameras (58%).
- Games and Internet access are also high on the list of features that subscribers have on their phones, but never use. Adds Wheelock, “Many mobile data and multimedia services are failing to reach the mainstream not because they’re unavailable, but because they fail to provide a satisfactory user experience and pricing model for most consumers.”
- The handset features that are least likely to be regarded as essential are: Wi-Fi, mobile TV, and games.
A new ABI Research brief, “Wireless Subscriber Profiles and Preferences,” provides an analysis of survey results from adult mobile phone users in seven countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The web-based survey, which was conducted in 1Q08, captured details on respondents’ mobile phone usage patterns, purchasing behavior, satisfaction with operators and handsets, and attitudes about a variety of voice, data, and multimedia services. [ABI Research]
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Markets Are Evolving in Different Directions
Global markets for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi both continue to show strong growth and will remain the leading personal area networking technologies, but prices and market developments are pushing each of them in new directions, according to a new short-range wireless communications forecast from ABI Research.
Senior analyst Doug McEuen says, “Bluetooth and Wi-Fi equipment and chipset numbers continue to increase. But with IC prices continuing to fall due to technology evolution and greater IC production efficiency, revenues aren’t rising as dramatically. That’s especially the case for Wi-Fi, where the chipsets have been very expensive for a long time. As the attach rate, particularly in laptops, increases to 100%, production is growing rapidly and prices are falling. That’s a good thing, because as the laptop market reaches saturation, Wi-Fi will need to find new opportunities.”
So IC vendors are hoping that lower price points will make the ICs attractive to other market segments, especially the huge but very cost-sensitive wireless handset market. “If you’re a radio or IC manufacturer and your unit price is above $2.00, you’re going to have trouble getting your product into a cell phone,” notes McEuen. “That is definitely one of the reasons why Wi-Fi has seen slower adoption in that market.”
Another key trend noted by McEuen is that Bluetooth’s prevalence in wireless handset/headset combinations is being supplemented by greater penetration in MP3 players and other portable media devices. It is also making inroads in the automotive industry. Bluetooth already has great penetration in the handset world and its price point is very low. It is also evolving towards higher speeds and greater capabilities. [ABI Research]
Mobile Users Will Be Winners with High Speed Bluetooth
“High Speed Bluetooth,” a new combination of Wi-Fi (802.11) and Bluetooth technologies, is certain to benefit users who transfer large multimedia files between wireless devices such as cellular handsets, according to a new Research Brief from ABI Research.
“Bluetooth penetration in cellular handsets is at an all-time high,” says senior analyst Douglas McEuen. “But it has a short range and fairly low data transfer capabilities. Users’ growing desire to share pictures, audio, and video makes demands on Bluetooth that it was never designed to handle.”
So the Bluetooth Special Interest Group has announced a technology – “High Speed Bluetooth” – that hands off transmissions of large data files (such as multimedia) to the faster 802.11 radios that are increasingly found in the same Bluetooth-equipped devices. When that extra throughput is no longer needed, Bluetooth automatically takes over again, resulting in power savings.
The first iteration of the new technology will be a software upgrade that will allow the two existing radios to work together. Later, some come companies will attempt to put both radios in one package or on one chip.
“High Speed Bluetooth is a logical step that takes advantage of existing building-blocks,” says McEuen. “For consumers it’s a win, because the upgrade is totally transparent to them. They’ll just see better data throughput and faster file transfers.”
But don’t expect to add High Speed Bluetooth to your existing mobile phone, even if it has Wi-Fi as well. The software upgrade will debut in new handsets and other devices expected to appear late in 2008.
The industry is getting on board, too. At least two chipmakers, Texas Instruments and CSR, are working on the software upgrade, and handset OEMs will be able to incorporate High Speed Bluetooth easily and economically. [ABI Research]
Bluetooth SIG Harnesses WiFi for High-speed Transfer
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group is set to announce today plans to take advantage of the ever increasing popularity of WiFi-embedded handsets such as the iPhone. The Bluetooth SIG is linking Bluetooth with WiFi to make it easier for users to transfer images and large data files such as music and video.
According to Kevin Keating, senior marketing manager with Bluetooth SIG, consumers with WiFi-enabled handsets will get that same Bluetooth used for pairing devices but will also get a fast channel, via 802.11, for content. Users will be able to turn the WiFi Bluetooth channel on and off to preserve battery life.
The architecture, called 'Alternate MAC/PHY' by Bluetooth SIG members working on the specification, is taking on a two-phased approach as SIG member companies drive the specification forward.
Keating said the first devices that include the technology could be on the market by mid-2009. In 2006, the Bluetooth SIG committed to using ultra-wideband technology for such fast data transfer but the momentum has shifted in WiFi's favor.
"The market has changed," Keating told FierceBroadbandWireless. "We're still working on UWB but we expect to see 802.11 have the most time spent on it right now." [FierceBroadbandWireless]
WiMAX Connectivity Integrated in the OQO Model 02 UMPC
The OQO model 02 UMPC is not a new unit in the strictest sense, but the company is demonstrated an industry first at International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Januari 7-10, 2008 by integrating the unit with full-on WiMAX connectivity.
OQO has teamed up with Sprint on the effort, naturally, giving the compact handheld the ability to surf the web (at blazing speeds) anywhere you have a WiMAX connection.
This is certainly more convenient than trying to hunt down a WiFi hotspot every time you get inspired to write a blog post. With a five-inch display and full computer functionality (including Windows Vista Business), the OQO Model 02 is almost as powerful as some compact laptops. The WiMAX is a definite plus.
It's not like the OQO Model 02 UMPC is new to the mobile connectivity game either, because it is already available with 802.11b/b WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (with A2DP), and EV-DO Rev. A. Rounding out the specs are a sliding thumb keyboard, integrated track stick, and a digitizer for use with an optional digital pen.
The fastest available processor now runs at 1.6Ghz; hard drives go up to 120GB, plus they've added the option for a flash-based 32GB solid state drive. The model 02 become the world's smallest PC running Windows Vista. [Annie Groer/HTLounge]
Sprint to Carry a New Haptics Phone: Samsung SPH-M800
Samsung is launching a touchscreen handset called the SGH-F490 at International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) Las Vegas, January 7-10, 2008 that features a 3.2" touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera, tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900), UMTS 2100, HSDPA 3.6, 130Mb of storage, Bluetooth 2.0, haptics feedback and a microSD expansion slot.
With a 3.2 touchscreen display (with that pseudo-haptic feedback setup), 5 megapixel camera, 130MB on board storage, and 3.5mm headphone jack, the Samsung SGH-F490 is no slouch in the performance department.
The handset will cost about $700. Rumor has it that Sprint is set to bring the handset to the U.S. market after the phone undergoes a few tweaks. According to leaked photos, the Sprint version will be called the Samsung SPH-M800, and it will run on CDMA/EV-DO with a 2-megapixel camera in lieu of the F490's 5-megapixel shooter.
Despite having a similar external aesthetic to the Samsung F490, the Samsung M800 won’t be rocking that 5 megapixel camera - instead, it’ll be snapping pics with a lower-end 2 megapixel jobby. Touchscreen goodness (likely on the same 3.2-inch display we saw in the Samsung SGH-F490) is in the cards, as is an EVDO radio, Bluetooth A2DP, Sprint Navigator GPS Location, and microSD card expansion, so we aren’t too disappointed with the Samsung M800.
O2 Xda Zinc: Fokus ke Produktivitas
Bagi para mobile warrior yang menginginkan peranti mobile office dengan pilihan moda komunikasi suara dan data yang lengkap, PDA phone teranyar lansiran O2, Xda Zinc bisa jadi pilihan.
Menggunakan platform Windows Mobile 5.0, Xda Zinc memadukan kekuatan prosesor Intel Xscale PXA270 520MHz dan Intel Hermon agar aplikasi-aplikasi mobile office dan komunikasi data dapat berjalan mulus. Selain mengusung kemampuan 3G serta GSM/GPRS tri-band, Xda Zinc juga menawarkan kelengkapan komunikasi data nirkabel melalui Bluetooth 2.0 dan Wireless LAN 802.11b/g.
Selain itu, desain Xda Zinc juga mendukung produktivitas dengan menyertakan keyboard QWERTY yang bisa digeser keluar. Dipadukan dengan layar TFT-LCD 2,8 inci dengan 65K warna, pengguna dapat menulis dan membaca email dan SMS, maupun mengedit dokumen-dokumen Word, Excel maupun Powerpoint dengan mudah.
Selain itu, PDA phone ini juga mengusung aplikasi-aplikasi unik, antara lain O2 Phone Plus, O2 Message Plus, dan SMS Backup yang membantu pengguna mengirim atau mengelola komunikasi suara maupun pesan-pesan teksnya, serta O2 Autoconfig yang membantu pengguna menyetel konfigurasi jaringan. /aa
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