What to Expect in the Future

As with any new technology, it will take time for Bluetooth to become accepted and

established. Despite all the hype over the past few years, the very first Bluetooth-enabled

devices are just now hitting the market; it will take several years for Bluetooth-enabled

products to become both common and affordable, and even more years for Bluetooth products

to replace traditional wired products.

The first wave of Bluetooth-enabled products includes a variety of different high-tech devices,

including:

• Adapters and PC cards to use with existing non-Bluetooth mobile phones and personal

computers

computers

• High-end (and high-priced!) mobile phones, cordless phones, portable PCs, and PDAs

with built-in Bluetooth communication capability

with built-in Bluetooth communication capability

• Wireless telephone headsets

That’s just the first wave. As we move into 2002 and beyond, not only will you see lower

That’s just the first wave. As we move into 2002 and beyond, not only will you see lower

prices on first-wave products, but you’ll also see a new wave of totally different Bluetoothenabled

products, including:

• Desktop PCs with Bluetooth technology built into the motherboard

• Wireless printers, scanners, fax machines, digital still cameras, and the like

• Bluetooth-enabled home audio/video equipment

• Wireless products developed for use in specific industries, such as the industrial

automation and medical industries

automation and medical industries

• Bluetooth technology integrated into various in-car functions and products—such as

hands-free cell phone capability for your traditional mobile phone

hands-free cell phone capability for your traditional mobile phone

Beyond this, the sky’s the limit. Can you imagine Bluetooth-enabled kitchen appliances?

(Some companies can, and have a vision of your toaster talking to your refrigerator and your

refrigerator printing out a shopping list—based on how many slices of bread you’ve toasted.)

How about Bluetooth-enabled sunglasses? (They would incorporate a heads-up map display

for when you’re driving, and an Internet-driven MP3 player for when you’re not.) Or a

Bluetooth-enabled key chain? (No physical keys, just encoded electronic impulses.) The

possibilities, as they say, are endless.

The reality is that Bluetooth has the potential to be one of the defining technologies of the

21st century. By taking the wires out of the currently wired worlds of computing,

communications, and consumer electronics, Bluetooth can make the real world a much more

mobile, much more flexible, much more user-friendly place. If Bluetooth truly becomes the

enabling technology for wireless connections and communications, expect many new and

innovative applications to emerge—applications that could have the same impact on our

future lives as the first computers and mobile phones had on our recent past.