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Imminent on Wi Fi Scene II

However, while such developments may be enough for a bit of merry appreciation, the fact that seamless roaming capabilities between the two networks won’t be on the table for as long as three more years makes for an effective let-down, expressed Andrew Seybold, a wireless analyst and president of Outlook 4Mobility on the panel.

“You need standardisation for roaming to happen, and that won’t come from the 3GPP [cellular standards group] until the end of this year. So, yes, it will probably not be implemented for another two or three years,” explained Christian Kermarrec, vice-president of the RF and wireless group at Analog Devices Inc.

Separately, panelists from ADI as well as Philips made their collective opinions known when they voiced out a difference in opinion, contesting a particular belief of Mathias when he broached the idea of Bluetooth being dead. “Philips is shipping millions of Bluetooth components a month. The headset is a primary application. It is also being used for synching PDAs and as a link for computer peripherals,” stated Marino of Philips.

“Thirty to 40 percent of all mobile cordless phones or cellphones in the next few years will have Bluetooth,” ADI’s Kermarrec said even further.

Mathias along with a number of others contended that Bluetooth seems far too slow in its operations, making it laborious for anyone to attempt sharing files or synching systems using this platform. Thus, while Bluetooth may be added in a number of digital telephones systems—from cordless phones, wired units, Wi Fi phones, cordless Skype phones and a great deal more—may be as intermittent as those of infrared ports that a number of notebook computers being released these days have, Barrett stated. Frequent use is, in other words, out of the question.

These of course are reactions to the current state and condition of Bluetooth technology in the industry and will continue unless dramatic changes involving Bluetooth gadgets happen. Thus, judging from the way things never stand still in the communications industry, and saying that such changes may be closer in the coming than most people think may be true. But it won’t be enough to motivate an entire market—along with industry experts, pundits and analysts—to take it seriously. Unless the change is here and now, anything and everything Bluetooth will still keep to the current keel.

On perspectives regarding the future of ultrawideband technology, the panel was optimistic and hopeful on the whole, especially on the subject of ultrawideband technology being able to offer UWB sticks to applications for which it is particularly ideal.

“UWB is a personal area network, not a competitor with 802.11, and it’s not a substitute for Bluetooth though it may be what Bluetooth evolves to on the road map. UWB will serve fundamentally as a wire replacement on computer and consumer systems,” concluded Marino.