2008 Marks Ten Years of Bluetooth Wireless Technology

Global Wireless Standard and Trade Organization Mark 10 Years, 10,000 Members
& Nearly 2 Billion Devices

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Electronics Show --
Bluetooth(R) technology, the global standard for short range wireless
communications, turns 10-years-old this week. And it's marking its birthday
appropriately at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
While the idea of Bluetooth technology was born over a decade ago, the
first products didn't appear commercially until the year 2000. In that short
time -- a span of eight years -- 1.5 billion Bluetooth enabled devices have
been shipped, and the organization behind the technology, the Bluetooth
Special Interest Group, has grown from a handful of companies to 10,000
members.
"The first ten years of Bluetooth development has been amazing to watch,"
said Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director, the Bluetooth SIG. "From
prototypes in 1998 to more than 1.5 billion devices on the market today, no
other consumer technology has grown as fast in such a short period of time."
The Bluetooth SIG qualifies Bluetooth products to a set of strict criteria
to carry the Bluetooth brand -- since 2000 when products became commercially
available, the trade organization has seen a 13-fold increase in the number of
products qualified each year. One of those products, the JayBird Bluetooth
Stereo Headset, will be introduced this week at CES and the manufacturer,
JayBird Gear LLC, will be honored at the Bluetooth SIG 10-year celebration
party as the organization's 10,000th member.
Bluetooth technology was named after a Danish king, King Harald Blatand,
who had a penchant for snacking on blueberries and was known for uniting
warring factions in what is now Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Uniting devices
from different manufacturers and with different purposes, like computers from
Apple and mice from Microsoft, is what Bluetooth technology is all about --
all at a low cost, with low power consumption and a secure connection every
time.
Consumer awareness of Bluetooth technology is at an all time high and the
Bluetooth logo -- a runic symbol of King Harald's initials surrounded by a
blue oval -- is familiar around the globe. Most people use Bluetooth
technology to wirelessly connect mobile phones to headsets or cars, use their
mobile phones to transfer pictures, files and other data another phone, PC or
printer, or listen to music wirelessly via Bluetooth enabled mp3 players and
stereo headsets.
Applications
The technology initially came to consumers in the form of wireless
headsets for talking hands-free on cell phones. Today, Bluetooth technology
can be found in laptops, PDAs, cameras, printers, cell phones, mice and
keyboards, MP3 players, speakers, cars, and even medical devices like heart
monitors.
"As consumers became more aware of Bluetooth technology and began to ask
for it, handset-makers started to include it as a means of differentiating
their products and increasing their margins. Adding a Bluetooth chip to a
phone now costs very little and opens up a new market for high-margin
accessories," says Stuart Carlaw of ABI Research, long-time Bluetooth
technology analyst. "Greater adoption has, in turn, cleared the way for the
inclusion of Bluetooth technology in all kinds of new products like Bluetooth
enabled jackets, motorcycle helmets and sunglasses with built-in wireless
headsets, and gaming controllers for Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.
I expect additional success for Bluetooth technology in new application areas
like home entertainment and medical and fitness devices."
The Future
The Bluetooth SIG has brought together wireless technologies to create one
wireless option for consumers worldwide. The Bluetooth SIG is working with the
WiMedia Alliance to use ultra-wideband (UWB) technology as the high speed
channel for Bluetooth technology. The organization also welcomed Wibree
technology into the Bluetooth wireless fold in 2007 and began work on an ultra
low power Bluetooth specification. Both are expected in prototyping phase in
2008 with availability in the first half of 2009.
The Bluetooth SIG at CES 2008

-- Media are invited to stop by the Bluetooth SIG table at ShowStoppers
in the Wynn Hotel on the evening of Monday, January 7, to view
demonstrations of the finalists in the 3rd annual Bluetooth SIG Best
of CES contest.
-- Executive Director Mike Foley will be speaking on the World of
Wireless panel on Wednesday, January 9, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. at LVCC,
South Hall, S104-105

About Bluetooth(R) Wireless Technology
Bluetooth wireless technology is the global short-range wireless standard
for personal connectivity of a broad range of electronic devices. The
technology is now available in its fourth version of the core specification
and continues to develop, building on its inherent strengths -- small-form
factor radio, low power, low cost, built-in security, robustness, ease-of-use,
and ad hoc networking abilities. More than five new Bluetooth enabled products
are qualified every working day and 13 million Bluetooth units are shipping
per week. The installed base of Bluetooth devices is one and a half billion
and climbing, making it the only proven choice for developers, product
manufacturers, and consumers worldwide.
About the Bluetooth SIG
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), comprised of leaders in the
telecommunications, computing, consumer electronics, automotive and network
industries, is driving development of Bluetooth wireless technology and
bringing it to market. The Bluetooth SIG includes Promoter group companies
Ericsson, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia and Toshiba, along with
over 10,000 Associate and Adopter member companies. The Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
headquarters are located in Bellevue, Washington, U.S.A. For more information
please visit http://www.bluetooth.com.
The Bluetooth word mark and logo are registered trademarks and are owned
by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc.

Press Contacts:
Americas
Starr Million
INK Public Relations for the Bluetooth SIG
+1 (512) 382-8981
starr@ink-pr.com

Asia-Pacific
CHINA
Andrew Wu
Hill & Knowlton for the Bluetooth SIG
(86 10) 5861 7596
andrew.wu@hillandknowlton.com.cn

JAPAN
Mike Litwin
Inoue Public Relations for the Bluetooth SIG
+81-3-5269-2301
m-litwin@inoue-pr.com

KOREA
Harry Yoon
Strategic Marketing and Communications, Inc. for the Bluetooth SIG
+82-2-3445-3232
harry@oksmc.co.kr

TAIWAN
Jojo Chang
Apex Communications Consultants Co., Ltd., for the Bluetooth SIG
886-2-7718-7777 ext. 535
jojo@apexpr.com.tw

Europe, Middle East, Africa
Danny Devriendt
Porter Novelli for the Bluetooth SIG
+32 475353465
danny.devriendt@porternovelli.be

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click
appropriate link.
Dr. Michael Foley
http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=31627

SOURCE Bluetooth SIG

Americas, Starr Million of INK Public Relations, +1-512-382-8981,
starr@ink-pr.com; or Asia-Pacific, CHINA, Andrew Wu of Hill & Knowlton, (86
10) 5861-7596, andrew.wu@hillandknowlton.com.cn; or JAPAN, Mike Litwin of
Inoue Public Relations, +81-3-5269-2301, m-litwin@inoue-pr.com; or KOREA,
Harry Yoon of Strategic Marketing and Communications, Inc., +82-2-3445-3232,
harry@oksmc.co.kr; or TAIWAN, Jojo Chang of Apex Communications Consultants
Co., Ltd., 886-2-7718-7777, ext. 535, jojo@apexpr.com.tw; or Europe, Middle
East, Africa, Danny Devriendt of Porter Novelli, +32 475353465,
danny.devriendt@porternovelli.be, all for the Bluetooth SIG