What next for Bluetooth?

While Bluetooth may have been thought of as the white elephant of the wireless family, companies' investments will start to pay off as the market enters maturity, according to a new study.

According to consultants Frost and Sullivan, the development of standards for Bluetooth will make sure that the technology keeps growing, while the positive outlook in the semi-conductor industry will provide Bluetooth with the development impetus it needs.

The study predicts that Bluetooth shipments will double in 2003, reaching 70 million units, but the number could be higher if the industry pulls its finger out in production over the last half of the year.

Looking to the technology's long term future, the study's message is clear - stick to what you know. Despite hints at diversification, with Bluetooth making an impact in new areas – the first Bluetooth-enabled car was launched in the UK last week – mobiles and PCs are still the areas that the industry should be concentrating on, focusing on keeping the customers they have and ramping up the market with new applications.

And while the money-making opportunities for the Bluetooth brigade might be looking juicy for the years to come, the verdict for techies may not be so promising. As some of the big boys have seen their back-end Bluetooth efforts fall by the wayside, the market may undergo some shrinkage.

Carles Ferreiro, consultant at Frost and Sullivan said: "Tough economic conditions and the resource demands of a challenging technology have forced a consolidation of the market. Developers no longer jump on this bandwagon, they jump off it when they realise there is no easy money to be made."