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The product underwent the extensive testing required by the Bluetooth Qualification Body to ensure interoperability with the standard, Boockoff-Bajdek said. This is a crucial step, because "the success of Bluetooth as a standard hinges on interoperability," she said.
The headset will require a Bluetooth host device -- either the base station, which GN Netcom sells, or a Bluetooth card for a PC or PDA -- to operate. When such a device is present, the GN 9000 Bluetooth headset will offer users a mobile range of up to 30 feet (900 centimeters). The device will retail for $299, and a package including the base station and headset will cost $499.
Though this price level puts it out of the reach of small office/home office (SOHO) users, which includes most Ken's Korner readers, I agree with GN Netcom's Boockoff-Bajdek that the headset is a significant milestone. It is the harbinger of things to come, the "first robin" of a wireless communications spring, as it were.
We must put the cost into context, notes Paul Mahoney, the director of product marketing at GN Netcom. The idea of Bluetooth "is to allow [the consumer] to use a single device instead of six or seven," he said, adding that $299 for a single product is not expensive compared to buying multiple items for multiple devices.
Flash Memory Gaining Ground As Portable Devices Increase
Perhaps "flash memory" is not part of our daily vocabularies, but the technology is rapidly becoming part of our lives, even if many of us don't realize it. Flash memory, you see, is used in cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 music players and other portable devices we all use more and more these days. It also plays a big role in unseen areas, such as networking networking devices from companies like Cisco.
Perhaps the most visible use of flash memory to consumers currently is in the little memory cards or sticks that slip in and out of digital cameras. Familiar brand names include SmartMedia and CompactFlash. Many other devices have built-in flash memory, so we aren't even aware that it's there.
But it is, and in growing numbers. Sales for 2000 are expected to hit $10 billion or more, more than double the total for 1999. Manufacturers such as Intel, AMD, Atmel and Fujitsu will reap substantial profits as a result. And companies continue to announce new products or developments almost weekly.
For example, Intel Corporation in October 2000 introduced a new flash memory chip designed to enhance the performance of next-generation Internet phones and wireless devices. Intel claims that the new 1.8 Volt Wireless Flash Memory is the "highest performance flash chip available, carrying out key functions up to four times faster than existing flash solutions."
The increased performance will result in higher data throughput rates to speed up data-intensive Internet phone applications such as browsing, data streaming and text messaging, the company reports. Energy savings of up to 60 percent are also claimed for the new low-voltage memory.
In another indication of flash memory growth, AMD earlier announced that it has entered into an agreement with Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) to supply flash memory products over the next three years. Under the contract, AMD will provide HP with flash memory products designed to support a broad range of products including its inkjet printers and various print servers.
"Our high density and Page Mode flash memory devices offer an ideal complement to HP's innovative products," said Walid Maghribi, group vice president of AMD's Memory Group. AMD (Continued on page 11)
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