Ericsson may be the first Bluetooth supporter to offer samples and start commercial shipments of devices supporting the nascent short-range wireless connection standard. Ericsson Components AB, a unit of LM Ericsson Telefon AB, said it will start sampling a Bluetooth data transceiver module this summer, and expects a complete Bluetooth radio unit to be commercially available in the first quarter next year.
The data transceiver module is all Ericsson’s own work and according to Stefan Lof, the company’s Bluetooth product manager, will come to market at around $10 once volume shipments start in November. A complete Bluetooth radio unit, incorporating Ericsson’s data-transceiver, a baseband processor based on a VLSI Technology adaptation of an ARM core, and an antenna is expected to cost a little under $30 when it ships in volume will ship in volume in the first quarter of 2000, said Lof.
Although Ericsson is the first of the Bluetooth club, of which the four other founders are IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba, to indicate likely shipping and pricing details, it is unlikely to be very far ahead of its fellows. According to a Nokia spokesperson everyone in this field is proceeding at about the same rate. We expect first the first products in the second half of 1999, with commercial implementations in laptop computers and mobile phones early in 2000.
The Bluetooth standard is intended to create a wireless means of connecting any electronic device, from a palmtop or mobile handset to a printer, desktop or a washing machine at rate of up to 1Mbps, and a range of up to 10 meters. Since its announcement last May, Bluetooth has attracted additional support from key electronics players, including 3Com, Compaq, Motorola and Sony. Ericsson’s Lof predicts that there will be a very widespread take-up of the technology once products are available in commercial quantities. We are already working hard to meet demand. I receive five phone calls a week from companies interested in samples, Lof said.
