Analysts say that Bluetooth nothing to get excited about

Pundits said yesterday that a plan to use Bluetooth technology to disseminate information to consumers on a large scale is impractical.

"Consumer demand for location messaging is low, while the cost of collecting and updating an information database is high," said Chung Hung-teh (鐘宏德), an analyst at Capital Securities Corp (群益証券).

Bluetooth -- a radio frequency specification for short-range voice and data transmission -- has been around since 1998. The technology facilitates wireless communication between devices -- such as notebook computers, printers, mobile phones and PDA -- that formerly had to use a cable to transfer data.

Chung's comment followed the announcement of a new Bluetooth application introduced by Philips Research East Asia yesterday.

The innovation, in theory, works like this: when you enter a Bluetooth-enabled airport, boarding information and duty free coupons pop up on your mobile phone or PDA automatically.

Another application of the technology according to Phillips is a Bluetooth-enabled amusement park, where continuously rotating pop-up messages inform you how long you have to wait for, say, the "Space Mountain" ride.

Although the scenario sounds good, analysts said it would be difficult to convert into reality.

"Bluetooth technology is made for short-range transmissions not for mapping or positioning services," said Sun Min-cheng (孫民承), an analyst at the Market Intelligence Center under the Institute for Information Industry (資策會).

He added Bluetooth-enabled devices can only talk to each other within a 10m radius, and if companies plan to send location information to mobile devices, tons of distribution points have to be installed around a building.

Capital Securities' Chung added that the high price of a Bluetooth chip-based modules -- approximately US$15 -- will keep the masses at bay.

Practical or not, the the company that created the idea say it has a long way to go. "This is just the beginning, and it might take years for implementation," said Jasmine Yan (嚴永慧), senior research engineer at Philips Research Taipei, who declined to elaborate on market reaction.