Stepping out of shadows of WiFi

Bluetooth -- a short-range wireless technology -- is finally coming of age.


After years of standing in the shadows of WiFi, its much broader reaching wireless counterpart, Bluetooth has found its niche: a burgeoning market for wireless phones and headsets.


A growing number of cell phone manufacturers are adding Bluetooth capabilities to their products and that's sparking a growing demand for Bluetooth wireless headsets for hands-free conversations. Bluetooth technology in the phone and headset allow conversations to be transmitted wirelessly between the devices.


Consumers are buying -- both the phones and the headsets.


According to research firm IDC, 13 percent of mobile phones shipped worldwide this year feature Bluetooth. By 2008, an estimated 53 percent of the world's phones will have Bluetooth while 65 percent of those shipped in the United States will offer the wireless technology, IDC said.


For now, Bluetooth is found mostly in higher-end phones. Over time, however, all phones will be equipped with Bluetooth, said Bruce Hawver, vice president of Consumer Products and Accessories at Motorola.


"Their portfolio of offerings is really going to expand in 2005," he said.


Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of wireless headsets and that's going to drive even more growth of Bluetooth, said Mike Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, a non-profit organization that's working to advance the technology.


"It's a simple scenario to understand and the consumer gets immediate value from it," he said. "It's been one of the key drivers for Bluetooth in the phone."


Lawmakers also should get some of the credit.


Around the world, there's little tolerance for drivers who put others at risk by trying to steer the wheel with one hand while holding a cell phone up to their ear with the other.


In New York and some other states, it is against the law to drive and talk on a cell phone without a headset or hands-free device.


If California passes such a law, Bluetooth headsets will likely be the most popular, said Beth Johnson, senior director of marketing for Plantronics, Santa Cruz-based maker of telephone headsets.


"When the law was enacted for hands-free in the U.K. we thought what people would do is go for the cheapest solution," she said. "What they ended up wanting was the best solution."


Bluetooth offers that. And soon it could offer more.


Already, some auto manufacturers are putting Bluetooth technology in their cars. And there's even been talk of putting Bluetooth in lapel pins or other fashion accessories to double as mobile phone headsets.


"We don't talk about it as a device," Plantronics' Johnson said. "People talk about wearing it, like it's a piece of clothing. You have to feel like you look good with it."





Design is critical to the success of a headset, said Mike Roberts, senior product marketing manager for mobile headsets at Fremont's Logitech.

"Headsets are kind of challenging because they have to fit in an ear," he said. "They have to be comfortable and durable., They have to look pretty good and work really well. Putting that all in one pot, mixing it up and coming out with something good is a challenge."

Logitech's headsets, for example, include small flexible ear bud rings that adjust to fit an ear. The Scala 500, a headset designed by Cardo Systems, has a flexible ear loop that fits around the outside of the ear and also includes a clip to attach the headset to glasses.

Most headsets also includes some sort of wind-silencing technology so background noises -- from traffic on the freeway to crowds of people in a shopping mall -- are reduced for the person on the other end of the conversation.

Contact Sam Diaz at sdiaz@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5021.

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