For example, Bluetooth access points in malls could supply your PDA with information on store locations and what's on sale. And Ericsson envisions cameras that instantly send digital postcards to friends and family, or skateboarding children being able to wirelessly download new moves from the Internet. These companies are among nine core members of a Bluetooth consortium pioneering a new era in wireless technology, and they all have visions for it. The reality behind the hype At least one company is preparing to launch the technology behind the buzz to the public by the end of the year. Motorola hopes to release a car kit with Bluetooth wireless applications, including a phone that controls a vehicle's air, heat and radio.
Eventual plans are to have the phones tune in all kinds of information.
An airport with Bluetooth devices embedded into the parking lot could tell travelers where their departure gate is and what time the flight leaves before they get out of the car. But in the end, it won't be companies that decide Bluetooth's fate, said Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future. I can guarantee you that Bluetooth will end up having its most important uses being uses that nobody can guess at today. Lund, Sweden, a vibrant college town near the southern tip of the country, is where the Swedish cell phone giant Ericsson started the Bluetooth movement in 1994. Ericsson's primary research facility is closely tied to the town's university.