06-18-2003, 06:00 PM
|
|
Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
|
|
Bluetooth to Outship Wi-Fi Five to One
"Bluetooth will become the dominant wireless technology, building market share by stealth as the Wi-Fi hotspot bubble bursts, market watcher Forrester Research has forecast. It's undoubtedly a contentious claim. Wi-Fi is being backed by some of the IT industry's biggest names - Intel, Apple, Cisco et al - not to mention a host of new and established service providers - BT, T-Mobile, The Cloud etc. - keen to tap into a perceived demand for high speed data access on the move. Bluetooth, by contrast, has largely failed to grab the public's attention as a 'must have' and has widely been dismissed as a technology set to be out-evolved by ubiquitous Wi-Fi in the home and the office."
Interesting - so far, in my world at least, WiFi outstrips Bluetooth by quite a bit, but Bluetooth is gaining ground. What's it like in your world?
|
| |
|
|
|
06-18-2003, 06:09 PM
|
|
Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 335
|
|
Why is everyone obsessed with pitting WiFi against Bluetooth?
Why is everyone obsessed with pitting WiFi against Bluetooth?
I see them as complementary solutions. WiFi for wireless networking, and Bluetooth for short range communications as a cable replacement. Until WiFi can can compete with Bluetooth for power, price and complexity...
I currently don't have a Bluetooth phone, so I have a WiFi card for my Axim and a couple of remote PCs at home. If my PDA had built in Bluetooth I'd probably invest in a Bluetooth to Ethernet link in my living room.
What interests me is the newer proposed short range wireless devices offering much higher bandwidth... I'd like to see a world where placing my video recorder next to my TV/HiFi is all I need to do to connect them...
PJE
|
| |
|
|
|
06-18-2003, 06:10 PM
|
|
Mystic
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,768
|
|
Here is the difference
When you have WiFi it is most likely being used. It is almost always an intentional purchase and deployment.
BT on the other hand will be installed on millions of phones and the phone users won't even know about it or care. The promise for pervasive BT is compelling, but it has to work seamlessly to be worthwhile and right now, it just falls flat on its face most of the time. There needs to be a new BT that works.
__________________
Jonathan (JonnoB)
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke
|
| |
|
|
|
06-18-2003, 06:13 PM
|
|
Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
|
|
Re: Why is everyone obsessed with pitting WiFi against Bluetooth?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by PJE
Why is everyone obsessed with pitting WiFi against Bluetooth?
|
Totally agreed. Counting which is WiFi and which is Bluetooth doesn't mean anything, IMHO. 
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by JonnoB
There needs to be a new BT that works.
|
Tell that to the many people who are using BT headsets, or the T68 connected to their Pocket PC. A lot of people are even buying the Jabra BT headset for non-BT phones (it comes with an adapter).
--janak
|
| |
|
|
|
06-18-2003, 06:22 PM
|
|
Mystic
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,768
|
|
Re: Why is everyone obsessed with pitting WiFi against Bluetooth?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Janak Parekh
Tell that to the many people who are using BT headsets, or the T68 connected to their Pocket PC. A lot of people are even buying the Jabra BT headset for non-BT phones (it comes with an adapter).
|
Yes, I like the idea of BT, but the current implementation is too slow for high-bandwidth cable-free solutions. Seen any good stereo speaker headsets? Replacing my cable - how does it replace my firewire? At this point, BT has alot of hype, but appears to be not much more than a wireless handsfree adaptor for phones and a minimal replacement for IR and cabled connectivity to a PDA for phone data access. I thought it would be so much more.
Meanwhile, WiFi although intended for different markets is being developed to consume less power, provide streaming media and data exchange profiles (Cisco has a new WiFi phone). I forsee a time as more connecting technologies move to packet-based networking, that all previously wired connectivity will be based on IP wireless. This will make things like the existing BT moot and although not based on todays WiFi, even PAN will be IP future WiFi based.
__________________
Jonathan (JonnoB)
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke
|
| |
|
|
|
06-18-2003, 06:44 PM
|
|
Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 134
|
|
Own 1 Wi-Fi card for Axim.
Also own...
1 CF BT card for Axim workng
1 T68i w/internal BT working
1 BT headset working with T68i, not as headset for Axim
2 BT dongles for connecting T68i and Axim with desktop and laptop
all working. Anyone who hasn't been able to get BT to work, just hasn't taken the minute or two to get it working. BT can be very very easy, example, headset to T68i. Does it need work on the PC, PPC side, yes, but what is out there now is very workable.
It's all out there and usable! Do it! Why wait, phones with Wi-Fi aren't here, and may not be in the near term. Wi-Fi headphones? headsets? haven't seen those. GPS with bluetooth, yep, easy and already shipping.
Socket is even coming out with an adapter that will turn any serial device into a BT device.
If you on the fence on BT, have a bit of IQ and a little paintence, just jump on in the water is fine!
|
| |
|
|
|
06-18-2003, 06:44 PM
|
|
Ponderer
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 96
|
|
wifi is great for places where you can connect but with bluetooth + cell you can connect almost anywhere.
???? wifi towers (like cell), national coverage???
Why not both? then we can both live happy  :mrgreen:
|
| |
|
|
|
06-18-2003, 06:55 PM
|
|
Pontificator
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,329
|
|
The question that now needs to be asked.....
.....what were the guys at Forrester Research perfered drug of choice....crack, coke, or weed?
:twak:
Because it's obvious he was on SOMETHING when he wrote this. BlueTooth has what? A 30' range? End of story. Its a PAN networking method unless you want all your users to huddle around an access point, what a sight!, that won't work.
WIFI has what? To Mars or Jupiter? (Give me a big enough antenna and I'll contact the universe.) Its a WLAN. Its built for range. End of book.
Compairing the two is critically braindead...its like compairing USB2 or FireWire to CAT5.... :roll:
|
| |
|
|
|
06-18-2003, 07:09 PM
|
|
Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 450
|
|
Re: Bluetooth to Outship Wi-Fi Five to One
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
"Bluetooth will become the dominant wireless technology,...
|
This is the line that bothers me. I guess it would depend upon the definitino of "dominant technology". If you are talking about the number of chips sold... sure. If you are talking about technology actually in use, then I would say WiFi would definately dominate at this point. I've got lots of devices I've purchased, or plan on purchasing, that come with BT installed, but I'll never use it. On the other hand, every WiFi equiped device I've purchased is in use. Just like someone said earlier, WiFi seems to be a more intentional purchase, where BT is simply being packaged with everything. (Before everyone starts with "everything I own has BT and I use it, this was just my opinion, based on my experience and the fact I see a LOT more WiFi devices in use than BT.)
|
| |
|
|
|
06-18-2003, 07:36 PM
|
|
Theorist
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 279
|
|
Actually, this is just the news I wanted to hear.
I think that, at bottom, the article is correct: Wifi bubble will pop, and BlueTooth will grow. But these trends have nothing to do with each other. In any case, I will be _very_ happy to see BlueTooth become ubiquitous. I just can't wait until all that BT stuff like hard drives and access points comes down in price. Maybe it will happen sooner than later.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Linear Mode
