Signature Q1 2009 - (Page 16) By Raghavan Natarajan | Q1 ’09 Stroll around Bangalore’s swanky The Forum Mall with your Bluetooth enabled phone in discoverable mode, and you’ll soon begin receiving promotional messages from the stores in the mall, one of 12 across India that have deployed Bluetooth enabled servers to reach out to customers in a personalized way. If multinational brands such as Levi’s, adidas and Pepsi, among others, are experimenting with Bluetooth technology to get closer to their customers, so too is the Bangalore Traffic Police. Officers now carry handsets that communicate with a central information server to instantly recall a traffic offender’s past record; a Bluetooth enabled printer can issue tickets on the spot. Other applications are quickly catching on. For instance, Bangalore-based Motvik Technologies launched wwigo (Webcam Wherever I Go) in June 2008. The solution, pronounced “vigo,” turns a Bluetooth enabled camera phone into a mobile, wireless webcam. And Phoneytunes, a mobile services company, has deployed Bluetooth enabled kiosks at 38 Sony Ericsson retail outlets across the country to allow users to download ringtones, wallpapers and songs. Among Indian consumers, Bluetooth enabled wireless headsets are becoming increasingly popular, thanks to lower prices A new SIGnature department debuts with a look and surging sales of mobile handsets. An estimated 7 million to 8 million mobile at how India’s huge population is shaping adoption of phones – 70 percent of which are Bluetooth Bluetooth technology – and being shaped by it. enabled – are sold each month in India, which has a subscriber base of 250 million. Research by the Bluetooth SIG has shown that the use of Bluetooth wireless headsets increases mobile operators’ average revenue per user (ARPU) by up to 15 percent. India has one of the lowest ARPU figures in the world, so it’s no surprise that mobile operators are eager to promote Bluetooth enabled headsets. “The response to our headsets has been overwhelming,” says Shaz Khan, president–Asia-Pacific at GN Mobile, the world’s largest Bluetooth wireless headset maker, which recently launched its Jabra brand of headsets in India. “Most Indian consumers are willing to bump up the price to US$20 to get phones with Bluetooth technology and minimal premium features,” explains Mike Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. “The same observations are seen in other devices with Bluetooth technology, including headsets, PCs and music devices.” Outside of mobile phones, Bluetooth technology now appears in many automotive applications. “Automotive is a rapidly growing market for Bluetooth technology, with a variety of products ranging from personal navigation devices to car radio units integrating Bluetooth technology,” says Vinod Deshmukh, president and co-CEO, R&D Services at MindTree Ltd., which recently launched its EtherMind Bluetooth Software Development Kit to help manage connections with multiple devices inside a car. The Indian automotive market represents an exciting growth area, with more middle-class Indians buying cars today – even more than one per household – to accommodate the needs of working couples. While Bluetooth technology’s main automotive applications are hands-free calling and “infotainment” devices, it won’t be long before we see vehicle safety, navigation, tracking, telematics and control, according to Anant Koppar, chairman and CEO of KTwo Technology Solutions. “As Bluetooth technology matures in the auto industry, sensors can be used to evaluate things like tire pressure, heating and cooling systems, and safety features wirelessly, thereby reducing the weight and expense of a vehicle,” adds Foley. In another market segment, the scarcity of medical facilities and doctors in densely-populated India is expected to encourage the use of Bluetooth enabled medical, health and fitness devices. For instance, a wearable Bluetooth enabled heart monitor that can send text messages to local hospitals has been successfully tested at the Sathyabama University in Tamil Nadu. “Medical devices will provide rural areas with access to medical care that previously would not have been possible,” Foley says. “Sensors in devices can send information via Bluetooth technology to a PC for a doctor across the world to review, track and assess a person’s health.” India’s large population and increasing technical sophistication mean Bluetooth technology can flourish here. And with a wide and growing range of possible applications, Bluetooth technology can meet the specific needs and wants of how people live, work and play in India’s complex culture. Raghavan Natarajan writes about technology applications and is a former editor of cxotoday.com, India’s e-newspaper for the IT industry and enterprise buyers. REGION L REPORT Through Another Lens 16 | SIGnature | Bluetooth.org @ http://www.cxotoday.com http://www.bluetooth.org
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.