Nearly 20% of all new vehicles worldwide will contain embedded Bluetooth hardware by 2007, according to the findings of a new Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) study. Future Bluetooth-based automotive applications are poised to deliver new opportunities to all facets of the industry, from silicon vendors and hardware manufacturers to automakers and gasoline retailers.
DaimlerChrysler's UConnect hands-free car kit, will serve as Bluetooth's US automotive introduction. Meanwhile in Europe, certain Audi, BMW, Peugeot, and Saab models currently offer Bluetooth hands-free car kits as options.
Bluetooth silicon costs run approximately US$6, making the technology extremely attractive to automakers, and ABI predicts costs will continue to fall. Besides cost, the key automotive driver is Bluetooth's proliferation into an increasing number of mobile handsets. Just recently, Sprint announced the first CDMA phone to feature Bluetooth connectivity. Since Bluetooth car kits are relatively simple and inexpensive to install, OEMs will proactively install them, realizing the growing probability they may be federally mandated.
While the first wave of Bluetooth devices in the vehicle will center around telephony, newer applications will soon follow. These include remote vehicle diagnostics, lower-cost telematics services, advanced automotive safety systems, vehicle-to-vehicle communications, and remote audio and video downloads into the vehicle, among others."
Posted to the site on 26th May 2003
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/8934.php