As Bluetooth wireless technology heads for its "third generation," it is a sign of the near- insatiable global appetite for wireless services and communications. In densely populated areas, the cellular telephone has become the lifeline for many, the main means of contacting another party or of achieving reliable communications with a customer or business associate. As cellular telephones head for their "fourth generation," carriers prepare to embrace additional wireless technologies, such as WiMAX, in order to provide such advanced services and high-speed mobile Internet access and streaming video functionality.

Bluetooth has long appeared as one of those wireless technologies "looking for a home." It has always been designed as a short-range wireless technology, but never found its niche in merchandising the way that radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology did. Yet, Bluetooth is still with us, and becoming a more integral part of automotive electronics according to a new report from IMS Research. Bluetooth has survived severe pricing pressures early in its history to emerge as one of the more significant (and versatile) short-range wireless technologies.

If there is any one reason for this, it is the modern craving for convenience as a function of technology. The Bluetooth cellular-phone headset, for example is both a convenience and a legal requirement in many areas for automotive driving and cellular-phone use. Bluetooth was also widely adopted in laptop computers and peripheral devices as a convenience. In general, wireless technology is a convenience, a way to eliminate wires and simplify connections. For that reason, even the most "questionable" of wireless technologies will find an application, somewhere.

Bluetooth is by now a well-established adjunct technology for cellular-telephone headsets. It is also used in portable navigation devices, and has tremendous potential in emerging automotive applications. Much of the success of the latest (Version 3) generation of Bluetooth products in the automotive environment will depend on how well other wireless technologies, such as WiMAX, wireless local area networks (WLANs), and ultrawideband (UWB) approaches fare in the marketplace. The potential for Bluetooth technology in automotive markets will be closely examined in a new report from IMS Research, "The Worldwide Market for Bluetooth in Automotive Applications." For more information on the report, contact Filomena Berardi, IMS Research Market Research Analyst for Wireless Connectivity, at Filomena_berardi@imsresearch.com.

IMS Research

WiMAX power amplifiers (PAs) from ANADIGICS have been specified by Beceem Communications (www.beceem.com) for their latest model BCS200 chipset reference designs. The reference designs support all features of the Mobile WiMAX Wave 2 profile. The ANADIGICS models AWM6423 and AWM6432 WiMAX PA modules integrate step attenuators and output-power detectors along with the InGaP amplifier circuitry and support error-vector-magnitude (EVM) performance of 4 percent for 16-state quadrature-amplitude-modulation (16QAM) signals or 2.5 percent for 64QAM signals. According to Ron Michels, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Broadband Products at ANADIGICS, "Beceem is making the first step into 4G for WiMAX products, and we are delighted to be a part of the BCS200 chipset reference designs."

ANADIGICS, Inc .

2007 Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference
December 11-14, 2007
Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel
Bangkok, Thailand
http://www.apmc2007.org/

2008 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (with WAMICON)
January 22-24, 2008
Orlando, FL
http://www.radiowireless.org/

2008 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC)
February 3-7, 2008
San Francisco Marriott Hotel
San Francisco, CA
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