TDK Systems Exposes the Phoney War Between Bluetooth and Wireless LAN

Mobility is the next major step in business strategy. But is it to be 802.11 or Bluetooth?. White Paper uncovers the truth behind the wireless hype -- By the end of this year, more than 24 million Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones will be in use worldwide. This marks a 1780% increase on shipments in 2001.
The forecast, by Nick Hunn, managing director at TDK Systems, is based on industry research, which shows that 11 million Bluetooth chipsets have already been shipped. Chipsets are used in mobile phone handsets, printers, headsets, keyboards, pens, cameras, laptops, PCs and PDAs.

In a White Paper released today, entitled 'Bluetooth and Wi-Fi', Hunn also predicts that by 2006 Bluetooth chip manufacturers will sell as many products in one week as 802.11b Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) specialists ship in one year. The time has therefore come for the two standards to call a truce and agree that both are successful and complementary.

"As Bluetooth becomes better recognized from its handset penetration, the range of business and consumer applications involving laptops, PDAs and PCs will also rise," said Hunn.

"One of the strongest drivers of growth will be impending legislation relating to the use of mobile phones within cars. Handheld use in cars is already prohibited in Germany, The Netherlands, Australia and New York. As a result, the automotive sector is moving at an amazing speed to integrate Bluetooth into the dashboard," he added.

As part of the White Paper, Hunn exposes the phoney war that has raged between the proponents of Bluetooth and Wireless LAN over the last three years.

"Analysts and semiconductor companies have been anxious to secure their position with successive announcements of silicon shipments," said Hunn. "The problem with many of these figures, however, is that the bulk of real solutions require more than one chip - usually two or three chips per product."

In Hunn's view, the war between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is a moot point as both technologies are well suited to their individual tasks. Wi-Fi will be used for wireless network access and Bluetooth will continue to serve as a cable replacement and personal area networking solution.

A copy of the White Paper, 'Bluetooth and Wi-Fi', is available from the TDK Systems Web site, http://www.tdksys.com/WhatsNew/index.html.

For more information about TDK Systems, please visit the LEWIS Virtual Press Room at http://www.lewisvpr.com/clients/tdk.html or www.tdksys.com.

About TDK Systems (www.tdksys.com)

TDK Systems, part of the $5.6 billion TDK Corp. (NYSE: TDK), specializes in the design and development of products for the wired and wireless markets. TDK Systems' strong understanding of both PC and telecoms places it in a unique position to develop solutions for the wireless market. The company is a founding member of the Bluetooth Consortium and is actively researching and developing solutions for all next generation networks, including Bluetooth, WiFi5 (802.11a), WiFi (802.11b) and HiperLAN/2. All of TDK Systems' designs are aimed at turning wireless into a practical end-user solution, providing the ultimate in compatibility and interoperability.

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