Hotspot Networks(c) Wi-Fi for Public Access Locations

Many companies have declared that Bluetooth wireless technology will be incorporated into their products, especially when components become cheaper. In a forecast made by Cahners In-Stat Group in July 2000, the product availability was defined as appearing in three waves.

The first wave was planned to occur around the turn of 2001 and was expected to include products like the following:

• Adapters for mobile phones and adapters (dongles) and PC Cards for notebooks and PCs.

• High-end mobile phones and notebook PCs with integrated Bluetooth communication for the business users.

• Bluetooth headsets were expected to enter the market by the first half of 2002.

• Cordless phones, handheld PCs, and PDAs will also be included in this first wave. The first handheld PCs and PDAs were expected to enter the market during 2002.

The second wave will in many respects overlap the first:

• PCs with Bluetooth circuitry on the motherboard will appear.

• Printers, fax machines, digital still cameras, and products for industrial/medical and vertical industries will also begin to move in the second wave.

• Some industrial solutions were planned to become available in the first quarter of 2002.

• In the automotive sector, the first Bluetooth options were expected to appear for the 2003 model year (hands-free mobile phone usage with the regular mobile phone).

The third wave will add the following:

• Low-cost mobile phones

• Lower-cost portable devices and desktop PCs

Countless electronic devices for home, personal, and business use have been brought to the market during recent years, but there has been no widespread technology to address the needs of connecting personal devices in PANs. The demand for a system that could easily connect devices for transferring data and voice over short distances without cables has grown stronger. Bluetooth wireless technology aims to fill this important communication need with its capability to communicate both voice and data wirelessly using a standard low-power, low-cost technology that can be integrated in all devices to enable complete mobility. The price is expected to be low and result in mass production.