Ericsson predicts up to 6 mln Bluetooth devices sold this year
7/1/2002
Stockholm, Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Ericsson AB, the biggest phone-equipment maker, expects 5 million to 6 million electronic devices incorporating Bluetooth radio chips to be sold this year, the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet said, citing a company executive. In 2005, makers of electronic consumer products will sell 800 million gadgets with Bluetooth, a chip that enables them to communicate with other devices without wires or infrared links, said Maria Khorsand, head of Ericsson Technology Licensing, according to the newspaper. The Bluetooth technology is backed by 2,500 companies, including makers of mobile phones and personal computers. The introduction of products incorporating the technology has been delayed, partly because the price of the chips has remained too high. A Bluetooth chip costs $8 to $10 today, the paper said. ``Next year, there will be a dramatic price decline,'' Khorsand told the newspaper, adding that she expects the cost of the chips to drop to between $3 and $4. ``Bluetooth is already here and volumes are starting to pick up.''
