The explosion of mobile Internet devices (MID) will lead to a 95 per cent penetration rate for Bluetooth technology by the end of the year, according to ABI Research.
With devices such as the Apple iPhone and RIM BlackBerry leading the charge, the Oyster Bay, Ny.-based research firm forecasted tremendous growth for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless technologies over the next five years.
“All Mobile Internet Devices will feature Wi-Fi from the start,” ABI Research senior analyst Douglas McEuen, said in a release. “That is the essential form of wireless connectivity that no MID will be without.”
He also said that by 2011, UWB technology would be added to the mix. “Ultra-wideband offers an ‘on steroids’ version of Bluetooth,” McEuen said. “Today it is just a wireless USB replacement, but the chips are getting smaller and more powerful and they are aiming for the portable device market. In a few years, it can be really useful in the MID market.”
ABI Research predicted that more enhanced forms of connectivity are in the pipeline as well, with “Bluetooth over 802.11,” – a software addition that will allow the device’s Bluetooth circuits to “piggyback” on its much faster Wi-Fi connection – expected to be the first on the market.