OK I admit it; I?m having a secret love affair with Bluetooth. Her ambiguous name, her elusive specification, her raw potential. There?s something in the way she moves, attracts me like no other lover.However, a new study by Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) predicts that the market delays and other problems shouldn’t slow down adoption of Bluetooth-enabled devices, meaning I will get to roam in the wireless wonderland sooner than I first thought.The company projects annual shipments of Bluetooth-enabled devices to reach 1.4 billion units in 2005. This year, it projects sales of a relatively paltry 53 million units. The increase will lead to semiconductor revenues of $5.3 billion by 2005. The study is only the most recent one indicating that, despite a slow start, Bluetooth adoption will start gathering momentum later this year. “Bluetooth’s scope of adoption is not limited to the cellular phone industry and we will begin to see Bluetooth transceivers embedded in everything from PC equipment to industrial devices,” said report author Navin Sabharwal.Early Bluetooth adoption will be paced by wireless phones using Bluetooth for tasks like connecting hands-free handsets without wires. However, the study says that wireless phones will account for less than 47 percent of Bluetooth-enabled units by 2005, with large gains in consumer electronics.

The study cautions, though, that their obstacles remain in the path of Bluetooth success. “We are unlikely to see a significant volume of Bluetooth-enabled devices until mid-2001, and the market will only begin to accelerate in 2002,” said Sabharwal. “Lack of inexpensive silicon, interoperability problems and limited applications could serve to dampen the market in the early phase.” Blue cherry pie and sweet silicon sauce, the love affair continues ...