Bluetooth: Spec. complete - work begins on products

The final specification is due for release Wednesday and will be published on the Bluetooth Web site in two volumes -- the Bluetooth Specification Version 1.0 Foundation Core and the Foundation Profiles.

The impending release of the final Bluetooth specification has signalled a green light to early adopters who are now poised to develop real products and commit themselves to an actual product roadmap. "It's a major milestone for the technology," said Per-Erik Svensson, Bluetooth marketing manager for Ericsson. "We can now sit down and commit ourselves to product plans. You can't plan unless you have the full spec but now it's here we can go forward confident that there is a stable framework to work with."

Svensson added that Ericsson is still aiming to ship its first Bluetooth product before the end of the year. "We won't integrate Bluetooth into the handsets until mid-next year, so the first phase will be an add-on device," he said.

Svensson cautioned that certain aspects of Spec 1.0 still need work. "A specification for how Bluetooth-enabled notebooks can be networked around a conference table still needs some work," he added, "but that is not enough to affect the overall stability of the Spec."

Despite the initial excitement that real work can begin on Bluetooth products, Svensson said that it will still be subject to market forces and have to compete for integrated space in notebook PCs in particular. "I don't expect to see volume product shipments until the end of next year and then it's down to the market. It will decide on whether this is a commercial success or not."

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