Ericsson unveils first Bluetooth product bluetooth-headset.jpg (9803 bytes)

At Mobile Focus and COMDEX/Fall '99, in Las Vegas, USA, Ericsson unveiled the Bluetooth™ Headset, a practical cellular phone headset that connects to a mobile phone by a radio link instead of a cable. It is the first ever handsfree accessory to incorporate Bluetooth™ technology, the future industry standard for wireless communication between devices. The Bluetooth™ Headset will be available on the market in mid 2000.

The Ericsson Bluetooth Headset is a lightweight, wireless mobile phone headset, with a built-in Bluetooth radio chip that acts as a connector between the headset and the Bluetooth plug on the Ericsson phone. When your phone rings, you can answer by simply pressing a key on the headset. If you want to make a call, press the key on the headset and use voice recognition to initiate the call. The phone can be up to 10 meters (30 ft.) away, in a briefcase, your coat pocket, or even in another room while you speak and enjoy complete mobility without cables dangling about. Weighing a mere 20 grams (0.75 oz.), the Bluetooth Headset sits comfortably on either ear and can be used with Ericsson T28, T28 WORLD and R320 cellular phones. This intelligent cellular phone accessory is the first consumer product from Ericsson that utilizes Bluetooth.

"If you look around you, everything you see will be connected - and by creating an open standard for wireless communication between devices, Ericsson is making it happen, with Bluetooth," says Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications at Ericsson Mobile Communications. "We regard openness and innovativeness as the most important factors for success in the mobile communications business today and in the future."

In May, Ericsson launched the Ericsson Bluetooth Development Kit, a 'toolbox' of equipment that provides a flexible design environment for engineers to develop Bluetooth applications with reduced development time and lower cost and integrating the Bluetooth technology into a range of electronic devices.

Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard introduced by Ericsson, IBM, Nokia, Intel and Toshiba in May 1998. Bluetooth technology uses short-range radio signals to connect devices such as mobile phones, mobile computers and handheld devices. At the moment, the industry is focusing on incorporating this technology into mobile devices but Bluetooth technology can also be integrated into almost any product that switches on and off; household appliances, cars, consumer electronics and stationary office equipment. Since its launch, over 1,100 top companies have signed up as members of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), including Motorola, Sony, 3Com, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Lucent Technologies and Dell, giving currency to the high hopes held by its developers. Already, it has been hailed by industry watchers as the most significant development in wireless communications in 20 years.


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