Bluetooth Slowing But Automitive Use Grows

Written by Adam Gosling

Monday, 13 August 2007

Things are going well enough for Bluetooth device vendors. While 2006 was a bumper year, 2007 is seeing continued growth albeit a little slower than last year. One area that looks to be ready to take off is the automotive market say industry researcher. According to In-Stat the growth for Bluetooth products is beginning to slow amidst a standard refresh, but Industry research company Strategy Analytics notes that the migration of Bluetooth for music streaming into the automotive and portable navigation markets is increasing automotive Bluetooth adoption. In fact, this wireless technology is set to account for 94 percent of in-vehicle communications system shipments by 2013, according to a new Strategy Analytics report, "Automotive Bluetooth: Heat Unit Integration and A2DP Present New Opportunities." The In-Stat research, on the one hand found that growth of Bluetooth devices will increase by 34% which is slower than last year, but it notes that wireless chip companies are seeking to offer integrated radio chips with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and FM. "The Bluetooth silicon market is beginning to see some consolidation, as larger silicon vendors add new capabilities, such as Wi-Fi and GPS, to their chip portfolios, either by internal development or acquisition," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst. "The goal is to create combined radio silicon that is being demanded by mobile phone vendors." Meanwhile, Strategy Analytics notes the same trend highlighting the use of stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) in automotive infotainment systems and portable navigation devices offering Bluetooth hands-free functionality. "Audio streaming using the Bluetooth A2DP profile is a key current trend in wireless and portable device markets. This trend is now starting to migrate into automotive markets, led by Japanese system suppliers in the aftermarket," according to report author, Clare Hughes, Global Automotive Practice. "Car makers, including Fiat, Ford and Toyota, are also offering embedded infotainment systems that support Bluetooth A2DP audio streaming." Strategy Analytics estimates that in 2006 only 5 percent of new vehicles produced in North America had embedded automotive Bluetooth functionality compared with 11 percent of European new vehicle production. However, promotion of Bluetooth as a new vehicle option is rather weak at the car maker and dealer levels, and optional pricing is high compared with aftermarket hands-free solutions, says the research despite Microsoft and the Ford company announcing a new in-car communication and entertainment system will be offered nine of its North American models by the end the year. The Ford Focus, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX will all get the intagration dubbed Sync by the the third quarter of this year. The optional extra is priced at $US395 will allow drivers to using either voice commands or steering wheel controls to access digital music stored on their own device and to do things like have mobile phone text messages read out loud. www.strategyanalytics.com www.in-stat.com Related news items Tiny Rugged UMPC WIth Vista -10/10/2007 Consumers Want FMC: Companies Don't See The Benefit -02/10/2007 Nokia Buys Map Company For US$8 Billion -02/10/2007 Seven In Unwired Takeover Bid -26/09/2007 Nokia E51: Smarter Than It Looks -19/09/2007 Newer news items GN Offers Up Two New Headsets -08/04/2008 Wireless Stereo For iPod -13/01/2008 Phones Driving Chip Sales -07/11/2007 Phone, iPod Link With New Music Pack -03/09/2007 Mobile Speakerphone From Jabra -30/08/2007 Older news items Snow Bunnies Are Bound To Be Unwired -30/07/2007 Nokia To Release In-Car Speakerphone -05/07/2007 Near Weightless ROKR Headsets A Must Have -15/05/2007 Gold Bluetooth Headset From Jabra -08/05/2007 British Bluetooth Headsets Lands In Aus -01/03/2007 Tag This Now: