Thursday, October 16, 2003
Dearly Beloved, We Gather Here Today To Pay Respects To Bluetooth
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "THOUGHT" @ 10:00 AM
http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20031013S0040
"Bluetooth is dead. There, I've said it. I feel better already. I've been thinking along these lines for more than three years, but that's the first time I've made it public. I'm very rarely inclined to trash such major efforts, but the jury's back, and really has been for a while. Bluetooth is toast, finished, over. Stick a fork in it. It's done."
The author takes no pleasure in the above statement and neither do I. I wanted bluetooth to work. It showed great promise and even though I use it several times a week with my Nokia 3650 and iPAQ 2215, it is a frustrating experience to get set up and to this day, when you mention it to an average person, they have no clue what it is. No wonder it isn't a success. No one even knows what it is.
Just yesterday I was talking with another Microsoft MVP about getting his MS bluetooth keyboard working with his iPAQ 5555. Forget about it. IR, as slow as it is and limited by point and shoot, it just works. USB cables just work. Serial cables work. Bluetooth may or may not work, and when the supposedly superior technology often can't do what the inferior technology can, and makes it more difficult in the process, people just walk on by.
"In a few short years, many will look back on Bluetooth as a lesson on marketing gone awry. Most will still wonder what all the fuss was all about. Regardless, it's now time to move on."
"Bluetooth is dead. There, I've said it. I feel better already. I've been thinking along these lines for more than three years, but that's the first time I've made it public. I'm very rarely inclined to trash such major efforts, but the jury's back, and really has been for a while. Bluetooth is toast, finished, over. Stick a fork in it. It's done."
The author takes no pleasure in the above statement and neither do I. I wanted bluetooth to work. It showed great promise and even though I use it several times a week with my Nokia 3650 and iPAQ 2215, it is a frustrating experience to get set up and to this day, when you mention it to an average person, they have no clue what it is. No wonder it isn't a success. No one even knows what it is.
Just yesterday I was talking with another Microsoft MVP about getting his MS bluetooth keyboard working with his iPAQ 5555. Forget about it. IR, as slow as it is and limited by point and shoot, it just works. USB cables just work. Serial cables work. Bluetooth may or may not work, and when the supposedly superior technology often can't do what the inferior technology can, and makes it more difficult in the process, people just walk on by.
"In a few short years, many will look back on Bluetooth as a lesson on marketing gone awry. Most will still wonder what all the fuss was all about. Regardless, it's now time to move on."
