"The primary driver for Bluetooth handsets is the desire to connect to Bluetooth mono headsets, nearly 33 million of which shipped in 2005," says Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst. "This figure is expected to increase to over 55 million in 2006."

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

- GSM phones have adopted Bluetooth most rapidly, with one-third of GSM handsets in 2005 shipping with Bluetooth.

- European and Japanese automakers made Bluetooth capability available in a greater variety of higher-end cars in 2005.

- According to results from In-Stat’s 2006 Residential Technology Survey, 50% of average US consumers claimed to be “Extremely Familiar” with Bluetooth technology, compared to a mere 2% of respondents in a 2005 survey.

A separate study by In-Stat, Bluetooth 2005: The Future is Here, indicated that Bluetooth has firmly established itself as a short-range wireless solution for voice and data transmission. 2005 will represent the fourth consecutive year to see Bluetooth-enabled product shipments more than double.
 
Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones dominated Bluetooth-enabled product shipments in 2004. They are in turn helping Bluetooth penetration into other products, including notebook PCs, mono and stereo headsets, automobiles, and portable digital music players. New Bluetooth standards are emerging to meet increasing requirements. Chips complying with Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) are beginning to hit the market in 2005, providing both greater bandwidth and lower power consumption. In May 2005, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group announced that the Ultra-Wideband standard would become the foundation for an even higher data rate Bluetooth standard. Bluetooth will need to constantly adapt in the face of competition that includes Wireless USB, Wireless 1394 and Wi-Fi.

In another In-Stat research entitled Bluetooth 2006: Mobile Phones & Headsets Driving the Market to New Heights, the report concluded that Bluetooth continued its ascent as the premier short-range wireless data transmission standard in 2005, and will do even better in 2006. Mobile phones and mono headsets continue to lead the way in Bluetooth adoption. These applications in turn are leading to Bluetooth adoption in notebook PCs, PDAs, and automobiles. Stereo headsets, game consoles, and MP3 players will be future growth areas for Bluetooth.
 
Increasing capabilities are coming with new Bluetooth standards. Bluetooth 2.0 chips, which will see dramatically increased shipments in 2006, offer the option of a significantly higher data rate than previously possible. A new, higher bandwidth version of Bluetooth, running over Ultrawideband (UWB) is expected to ship in products in 2008. It will offer Bluetooth data rates of up to 480Mbps over short distances.

Source:  In-Stat

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