2006 AnnuAl RepoRt

2006 Annual Report
2006: One billion devices lead the waY
Dr. Mike Foley
Executive Director
Bluetooth Special Interest Group
While we continue to drive forward and advance Bluetooth® wireless technology, it’s
good to glance in the rearview mirror every now and then to see where we have been.
As I look at where the Bluetooth SIG went in 2006, it was without a doubt a year with
some very big milestones. Actually, about one billion of them. Thanks to our members
and everyone involved in innovating Bluetooth technology, the billionth Bluetooth
enabled device was shipped in 2006. That is no small feat for a technology that is
only six years young.
On top of that, Bluetooth wireless technology saw impressive growth in brand recognition. Globally, 81% of consumers were aware of the Bluetooth brand. Those two
facts alone are a testament to the kind of work the Bluetooth SIG and its members
have done and continue to do.
It also validates that we are on the right track with programs like the Experience
Icons, TransSend™ and bringing High Speed Bluetooth technology under the SIG umbrella – all of which we did in 2006. For our members, we made improvements to the
Bluetooth Qualification program including making the Profile Tuning Suite a reference test system for many Bluetooth profiles. Seven enhancements to the Bluetooth
Core Specification were also adopted mainly to improve the user experience.
While each of those programs have specific individual goals, they all contribute to
the larger motivation of the Bluetooth SIG to drive use of Bluetooth technology beyond the headset and make the technology part of consumers’ everyday lifestyle.
The Bluetooth SIG also looked toward future markets in 2006 by improving the
hands-free profile to take advantage of explosive growth in the automotive industry,
and by creating a medical devices working group to expand the use of Bluetooth
technology into the medical, health and fitness markets.
I encourage you to take a closer look at the 2006 Annual Report and savor some of
the successes that will be driving forces for us in 2007.
FRONT COVER: Oakley RAZORWIRE headset
In 2006, this image was the most downloaded picture from the Multimedia
Press Room at WWW.BLUETOOTH.COM.
Best,
2 0 0 6 S u m m a ry
2006 at a Glance
New market developments and technological advancements
Growth
In November 2006, the Bluetooth SIG
realized the impressive milestone of an
installed base of more than one billion
Bluetooth enabled products. The billion
mark was based on shipment information from ABI Research; weekly shipments of wireless devices continued at
a pace of 12 million per week through
the calendar year.
The Bluetooth
SIG’s 7,000 member companies,
through innovation and products,
will drive the SIG
towards the next
goal of shipping
two billion devices
IN ONE YEAR in
2010.
The improvements enable member
companies to take products to market
faster and more cost-efficiently.
High Speed Direction
Established
To best address future Bluetooth technology markets, the Bluetooth SIG selected the WiMedia Alliance multi-band
orthogonal frequency division
multiplexing (MBOFDM) version
of ultra-wideband
(UWB) for integration with current
Bluetooth wireless
technology. The SIG
took this important step in March
2006, and working
with its many member companies, will create a version of
Bluetooth wireless technology with a
high speed/high data rate option.
46% of the respondents of the member
survey thought the
Qualification Program
was excellent or good.
Only 3% saw it as poor.
Qualification Program
Following months of beta testing and
refinement, the updated Qualification
Program (PRD 2.0) for member products designed with Bluetooth wireless
technology became available in August
2006. The improved program helps ensure interoperability amongst devices,
verifies conformance to Bluetooth specifications and strengthens the Bluetooth
SIG’s ability to enforce compliance.
For member companies, the new program streamlines development of
Bluetooth devices by automating many
of the processes, increasing consistency in how the process is applied and
reducing qualification time and costs.
High Speed Bluetooth technology
will meet the high-speed demands of
SHIPMENTS OF BLUETOOTH DEVICES PER YEAR
700 MILLION
500 MILLION
300 MILLION
100 MILLION
2003
2004
2005
2006
synchronizing and transferring large
amounts of data as well as enabling
high-quality video and audio applications for portable devices, multi-media
projectors and television sets.
PRoFILE TUNING SUITE
As a result of its
value as a test tool
and inclusion in the
TCRL, there was an
increase of more than
400% in the number of
PTS activations.
Profile Tuning Suite
The Profile Tuning Suite (PTS) is a software tool that runs on a standard PC
equipped with a Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR
USB transceiver and the Windows XP
operating system. The PTS executes
test cases found in the Bluetooth test
specifications and can be run with any
Bluetooth enabled end product that
supports the profiles and roles being
tested.
2006 was a milestone year for the PTS.
In 2006, the PTS was added to the
TCRL as a mandatory test system for
testing all validated PTS profiles. 2006
was also the first year in which adopter
members purchased PTS licenses. As
a result of its value as a test tool and
inclusion in the Test Case Reference
List (TCRL), there was an increase of
more than 400% in the number of PTS
activations.
the Bluetooth SIG’s commitment to its
member companies to find new, exciting ways for customers to use Bluetooth
enabled devices. TransSend is a
unique product that enables Internet
content such as addresses, phone
numbers, event calendar, maps, and
other text and images to be wirelessly
transferred from a Bluetooth enabled
PC to another mobile Bluetooth device
such as a phone or PDA. With the release of TransSend, the Bluetooth SIG
intends to increase customer satisfaction of Bluetooth enabled devices and
encourage members to TransSend
enable their web sites.
New Markets
To best leverage last year’s unprecedented automotive market growth rate
of 141% (ABI Research), the Bluetooth
SIG made significant enhancements
to the existing Hands-Free Profile
(HFP 1.5) and introduced the Phone
Book Access Profile (PBAP). The new
profiles greatly improve the process of
handling phonebook entries and dialing numbers while in the car, making it
more convenient and straight-forward
for drivers, car manufacturers and
phone manufacturers to use Bluetooth
wireless technology.
Also new in 2006, the Bluetooth SIG
formed the Medical Device Working
APAC Developers’
Conference
at the Press briefing,
key messages were the
one billion milestone
and the Experience
Icons. Here, DR. Mike
Foley with Dr. Chung
Hsin Lu, Deputy Direc-
TransSend™
TransSend, a client/server application
introduced in October 2006, reinforced
tor of the Committee
of Communications Industry Development,
Ministry of Economic
Affairs, Taiwan.
Group and the Bluetooth Embedded Control Interface (BECI) Working
Group.
Events
In addition to SIG sponsored events,
the Bluetooth SIG had successful booth
presences both at 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona and the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
At CES, the Bluetooth SIG introduced a
Best of CES contest where the Bluetake i-PHONO mini Bluetooth Stereo
Headphone was selected as the overall
show winner.
For member events, the SIG-run All
Hands Meeting and UnPlugFests drew
more member participation than in
years prior. The Member Roundtables
and Open Houses were well attended.
New events were also launched, such
as the EMEA Regional Member Conference, the Developers’ Conference in
APAC and the Automotive Interoperability Testing event. All events gained
considerable interest and will be followed up in 2007.
Key Specification
Publications
2006 was a year for major development in the Core Specification Working Group. During this time, seven
enhancements to the Bluetooth Core
Specification were adopted as prototyping specifications, including the hallmark feature, Secure Simple Pairing.
The Secure Simple Pairing feature
promises to greatly improve the user
experience during the initial connection
process.
Two new profiles were also completed
in 2006 and two existing profiles were
enhanced. The new profiles included
the Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)
and Device ID Profile (DI). The two enhanced profiles included Basic Printing
Profile (BPP) v1.2 and Hardcopy Cable
Replacement Profile (HCRP) v1.2.
Roadmap
The Bluetooth Roadmap is a strategic,
market-focused document developed
and refined through continuous collaboration between the Bluetooth Marketing Committee, Roadmapping Committee, Working Groups and member
community. There were 18 proposed
enhancements to the Bluetooth Core
Specification, ten new profiles in
planning or in progress, and 22
profile enhancements considered.
Experience IconS
In 2006, the Experience Icon program was introduced to members
to help facilitate a positive end
user experience.
“Compared to other brand marketing
organizations, the Bluetooth SIG is doing
a very good job. You should now take the
lead for all wireless technologies in order
to better the end user experience in
regard to usability and interoperability.”
Member quote from
the Member Survey 2006
Wireless office environment
In 2006, this image was the second most
downloaded picture from the Multimedia
Press Room at WWW.BLUETOOTH.COM.
MEMBE R R ELATI O NS
CenterED on Dedicated Resources
Members get highest priority
Growth
In 2006, the number of member companies increased 64% from about 4,000
to more than 7,000. The increase was
distributed evenly between the three
regions: Americas, Asia Pacific
(APAC), and Europe, Middle East
and Africa (EMEA).
and the qualification process. Compared to the survey in 2003, members’
overall satisfaction with the Bluetooth
SIG has increased significantly – twice
as many (42%) responded “very satisfied” or “extremely
satisfied” compared to 2003
(21%).
75% of the respondents
of the Annual Member
Survey were satisfied,
very satisfied or extremely satisfied with
the Bluetooth technology direction in the
current roadmap.
Besides creating a
dedicated member
relations team with
representatives in
all three regions,
the approximate
30 staff employees supported
members while
administrating and
executing multiple
programs and development efforts.
They also conveyed the Bluetooth SIG
messages to the industry, media, analysts and consumers. To provide better
technical support to the Japanese
members, an office was established
in Tokyo. The Technical Marketing
Manager worked closely with the Hong
Kong and Bellevue offices to bring new
programs and value-added services to
Japanese members.
Member Survey
2006 marked the return of the Annual
Member Survey. This survey gauges
satisfaction levels among members
regarding Bluetooth SIG programs, services, technology direction, test tools
All Hands
Meeting 2006
The Bluetooth
SIG hosted its 5th
annual All Hands
Meeting for members. This meeting
was the best attended so far, with
more than 200 individuals traveling
to Seattle, Washington. The theme, “Driving Innovation,”
focused on the Bluetooth technology
foothold and challenges that lie ahead,
including finalizing the easy pairing
experience, providing more forums for
BLUETOOTH SIG ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
63
AMERICAS
55
EMEA
134
APAC
Bluetooth SIG
Associate Members,
31 December 2006
APAC accounted for
more than 50% of
the total Associate
membership at any
given time throughout the year.
member input, and working on making
high-speed a reality. This year’s event
also featured the first induction into the
Bluetooth SIG Hall of Fame where Jaap
Haartsen, Jim Kardach, James Collier,
Waldemar Hontscha, and Anders Edlund
were inducted into the Class of 2006.
For more information, visit http://programs.bluetooth.org/ahm/.
Roundtable Meetings and
Open Houses
Nine annual Roundtable meetings for
Associate and Promoter members were
held in the fall of 2006: Schaumburg,
IL (USA), San Jose, CA (USA), San
Diego, CA (USA), London (UK), Munich
(Germany), Paris (France), Hong Kong
(China), Seoul (South Korea) and Tokyo
(Japan).
Roundtable meetings are interactive
member sessions used to provide
information and gather feedback. Onethird of the attendees were first time
participants. The discussions on the
Roadmap and the Qualification Program were most appreciated according
to the post-meeting survey. Other top-
ALL HANDS MEETING
The All Hands Meeting in Seattle, Washington saw record
attendance and was
highly appreciated
by the attendees.
Through six different track sessions,
SIG staff educated
the participants and
during breakout sessions, feedback was
given from members
on the direction of
the technology.
ics covered included WiMedia development, the Experience Icon program and
Wibree. 94% of the attendees thought
the Roundtable meeting met, met most,
or exceeded their expectations, according to the survey.
In connection to the Roundtable meetings, the Bluetooth SIG organized Open
House receptions featuring member
product demos. The Open Houses
were open to members, non-members
and media.
More member communication
and events
The Bluetooth Developers’ Conference
in Taipei, Taiwan, was the first largescale member event in APAC with 130
attendees from APAC and US. During the three-day conference, training sessions were provided on Core
Specifications, the Profile Tuning Suite
and the Qualification Program. Guest
speakers shared their insights and representatives from the Taiwan Ministry
of Economic Affairs presented on the
Bluetooth market in Taiwan. A handson testing session was also provided.
50 EMEA members met in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the first EMEA
Regional Member Conference. The
full-day conference, partly divided into
Marketing/PR and Technical tracks,
included guest speakers Petros Kondos
of WCIT, on the topic of Bluetooth proximity marketing, and adventurer Johan
Ernst Nilsson, presenting his Seven
Summits project. An Open House reception concluded the day.
About 20 training sessions were held
worldwide, most often in cooperation
with a member company, to educate
members on the Qualification Program,
Core Specifications and other pertinent
subjects.
750 toolkits were distributed in EMEA
as part of a marketing toolkit campaign.
Feedback gathered showed that the
toolkits aided in a variety of situations
such as internal education, redesigning
marketing strategies, new product inspiration, creation of marketing material
(also online), and correcting the use of
the Bluetooth trademarks.
The Bluetooth SIG Marketing and Technical Newsletters, distributed monthly
to about 17,000 individuals (as of Dec.
2006), continued to be an important
source of information. According to the
Member Survey, 91% of respondents
consider the newsletters a good way to
communicate information.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
Member tools greatly improved
Advancements seen in every technology program
10
Interoperability
In 2006, Bluetooth technology interoperability improvements included new
specifications and major enhancements
to existing specifications through errata,
the 2006 Test Case Reference List
(TCRL) release and the launch of the
new Bluetooth Qualification Program
(PRD 2.0). PRD 2.0 provided a significant improvement to the Bluetooth
Qualification Program and incorporated
the Bluetooth SIG’s Profile Tuning Suite
(PTS) as the validated Interoperability
Test System for Bluetooth profile qualification and testing. Furthermore, the
Test Plan Generator (TPG) helps members create more effective test plans.
The resulting test plans clearly identify the test cases needed to improve
interoperability, and to qualify designs
and end products.
More information at www.bluetooth.
com/Apply/TransSend and www.bluetooth.org/TransSend.
TransSend™
The primary goal of TransSend, released in October 2006, is to increase
the usage of Bluetooth technology in
PCs and mobile devices by enabling
the easy transfer of web page content
to mobile phones, PDAs and similar
devices. It does this by pushing calendar events (vCal), contacts (vCard), and
text (vNote) data types via the Object
Push Profile. To further promote the usage of TransSend, the Developer Edition was made available to all members
of the Bluetooth SIG at no charge in
2006. Upon release, there were 7,370
(Q4) downloads from www.bluetooth.
com and 248 (Q4) downloads from
www.bluetooth.org
The key feature driving the Seattle
Bluetooth core release is to meet the
needs of High Speed Bluetooth technology. The Seattle Bluetooth core release
Roadmap
The Bluetooth SIG has published the
Roadmap since 2004 and continues
to stay true to the technology’s core
values. During 2006, enhancements
were underway to create Bluetooth
Core Specification v2.1 + EDR, which is
focused on:
• Enhancing the initial connection experience between devices
• Improving device discovery time and
accuracy
•Enhancing desktop and multi-profile
support
• Improving security
• Extending battery life for human interface devices
transsend
TransSend was introduced in October
to allow Internet
content such as
maps, contact information, images, etc.
to be wirelessly
transferred from a
Bluetooth enabled
PC to another mobile
Bluetooth device.
focuses on enabling new scenarios,
performance, multi-profile scenarios,
security, privacy and power optimization.
This release will enable:
• Higher throughput
• Messaging services
• Enhanced piconet management
• Additional security and privacy
• Improved power
savings for mobile
phones
Bluetooth concepts into an Application
Interface. The initial BECI development
efforts are focused on the GAP, SDAP,
SPP, DUN, HFP and HSP specifications.
Usability Expert Group
The Usability Expert Group was formed
in mid-2006 to initially focus on the Secure Simple Pairing
User Experience and
experiences related
to the Bluetooth Core
Specification v2.1
+ EDR. The group
published its draft
Secure Simple Pairing White papers in
2006 which include
a user terminology
white paper, a usability metric white
paper and a user
interface flow white
paper. Once these
All of the new
initiatives show the
Two New
Working Groups Bluetooth SIG’s conThe new Medical Device Working Group tinued commitment to
is made up of 19
member companies
real-world interoperincluding IBM, Intel,
Motorola, Nonin
ability between all
Medical, Philips
Electronics and
Bluetooth enabled
Welch Allyn. The
team is working todevices.
gether to create and
ratify a Bluetooth Medical Device Profile that will expand the use of Bluetooth
technology into the medical, health and
fitness markets. The new profile will
ensure a comprehensive, yet easy, user
experience and optimized interoperability between health-related devices
and personal consumer electronics
products such as mobile phones, PCs
and PDAs where Bluetooth wireless
technology is already common. The
new profile is expected to be available
for use in devices in Q4 of 2007.
The Bluetooth Embedded Control
Interface (BECI) Working Group was
formed to develop a BECI Profile. This
profile serves as an implementation
assistant for developers who are new
to Bluetooth technology by abstracting
11
white papers have been completed, this
group will change its focus to multiprofile usability, interoperability impacts
on usability, battery life and responsiveness, and other usability issues that
impact Bluetooth technology today.
Core & Profile Specifications
In 2006, the Core Specification Working Group was actively finalizing the
seven features that composed the
Bluetooth Core Specification v2.1 + EDR.
These features were adopted as prototyping specifications and included the
following:
•Encryption Pause/Resume
• Erroneous
Data Reporting
• Extended
Inquiry Response
•Link Supervision Timeout
• Packet Boundary Flag
• Secure Simple
Pairing
• Sniff Subrating
New Qualification Program
(PRD 2.0)
Significant improvements to the Qualification Program went into effect in 2006.
The PRD 2.0 provides members with
the ability to declare that their product
is qualified on their own while asserting
that the Requirements of the Specifications and Qualification are met. Further
improvements were also implemented
in the Profile Tuning Suite, Test Plan
Generator, Qualified Listings Interface
and UnPlugFest events.
Qualification Enforcement
Program Manager
In December,
the Bluetooth
SIG hired its first
Qualification Enforcement Program Manager
(QE-PM). The
QE-PM’s role is
to critically evaluate Bluetooth
qualifications
and Bluetooth
interoperability
There were sevissues. When
eral profile adopthose are found,
tions in 2006
the QE-PM asThe Cornerstone of Qualification
that enhanced
sists the memThe Q-diagram represents the flow of the
existing use
ber
in correcting
Bluetooth Qualification “Self-Declaration”
Program
using
the
new
tools.
cases and cretheir implemenated new use
tation so as to
cases. These profile
improve the overall interoperability of
adoptions include the
Bluetooth enabled products.
following:
• Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)
Test Case Reference List (TCRL)
v1.0
The Bluetooth SIG released a new Test
•Device ID Profile (DI) v1.2
Case Reference List (TCRL) in August,
• Basic Printing Profile (BPP) v1.2
2006 due to the importance of a solid
•Hardcopy Cable Replacement Profile
transition from PRD 1.0 to PRD 2.0,
(HCRP) v1.2
which incorporates several tools includ-
12
ing the TPG and PTS to help enhance
interoperability. The TCRL incorporated
four new profiles that had been added
through addendums to TCRL-2005-1
(Device ID, Phone Book Access Profile,
Hard Copy Replacement Profile 1.2,
Basic Printing Profile 1.2). Highlights
include the following:
• The introduction of a new HCI test
specification into Bluetooth Core
Specification v1.2
and v2.1 + EDR
• The addition
of PTS testing
requirements into
TCRL
• The inclusion
of PRD 2.0 and
TPG/QLI into
the qualification
program
• The new and
improved test
specification errata system
•Inclusion of nearly 100 test specification errata
system for many Bluetooth profiles. The
PTS makes the qualification process
easier and more precise as well as
assisting members in debugging and testing in order to complete the Bluetooth
Qualification Process.
In 2006, the number of companies using the PTS grew from 86 to 194 and
the number of users that activated PTS
increased almost
400% from 274 to
1052. Furthermore,
2006 was the first
year that Adopters
purchased PTS
licenses. To facilitate the growth, a
web-based issue
tracking system
was created. More
than 100 qualifications were given
a discount in the
listing fee for using
PTS in qualification testing.
More information at http://programs.
bluetooth.org/pts/
More than 1,000 different users activated
PTS, eight different
profiles were included
in the TCRL and more
than 100 devices were
qualified using PTS.
Profile Tuning Suite (PTS)
The Profile Tuning Suite (PTS) completed the test system validation requirements and is now the reference test
Test Plan Generator (TPG)
Replacing the manual process of determining the test requirements from a
PTS ACTIVATON IN 2006
DATE
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
NEW USERS
53
38
67
53
53
92
47
62
56
76
112
69
NEW MEMBER
COMPANIES
9
5
9
8
8
11
9
13
9
11
14
2
TOTAL USERS
327
365
432
485
538
630
677
739
795
871
983
1052
TOTAL MEMBERS
95
100
109
117
125
136
145
158
167
178
192
194
13
multitude of documents, the Test Plan
Generator (TPG), which is mandatory
in PRD 2.0, provides members with an
automated test plan directly accessible
from the web. The Test Plan Generator,
released in mid-2005, is the online tool
for the PRD 2.0. This key application
reduces the cost and complexity of the
Bluetooth Qualification Process.
More information at https://programs.
bluetooth.org/tpg/
QUALIFIED LISTINGS PER YEAR
YEAR 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
LISTINGS 397 412 443 590 854 992
Qualified Listings Interface
(QLI)
The Qualified Listings Interface (QLI)
allows members to list their products after completing the Bluetooth Qualification Process in accordance with the newly
approved PRD 2.0. For the first time, a
complete list of all qualified Bluetooth
products, both components and consumer products within the Bluetooth SIG
databases, will be accessible through
various interfaces online to provide customized information and search functions for different audiences.
In 2006, Bluetooth qualifications continued their growth trend with 142 more
listings in 2006 than in 2005 for a 16%
increase and a total of 992 listings.
Furthermore, in 2006, 356 member
companies qualified products. More information at https://programs.bluetooth.
org/tpg/
UnPlugFests & Device Library
The tri-annual UnPlugFest (UPF) testing events continued to provide a forum
14
for members to test prototype devices
for interoperability and ease of use. The
UPF events focused more on members’
testing needs by offering the opportunity to test against the PTS and the new
Device Library as well as robustness
testing and security testing against
known threats and vulnerabilities. The
events are confidential and thus provide
a safe haven for members to test with
products not yet on the market and to
openly discuss interoperability issues.
2006 marked a record year for the
UPF events that attracted more than
770 attendees (up from 660 in 2005) in
Vancouver (February), Bangkok (June)
and Malta (October).
In addition to the UPF events, the
Bluetooth SIG hosted the first interoperability testing event aimed solely at a
specific product category. The Automotive Interoperability Testing event held
in Seattle in August attracted 88 attendees from 37 member companies.
More information at http://programs.
bluetooth.org/upf/
PARTICIPATION AT UPF EVENTS
Participants
Platforms
220
103
UPF 20 Feb 2005
108
216
UPF 21 Jun 2005
106
224
UPF 22 Oct 2005
130
125
138
275
243
255
UPF 23 Feb 2006
UPF 24 Jun 2006
UPF 25 Oct 2006
The Bluetooth SIG made its Device
Library more accessible to members
at UPFs, at other testing events, and
through member visits to the Bluetooth
SIG offices. In 2006, the SIG introduced a new method of transporting
the device library where SIG staff now
can carry devices to events in their
travel luggage, thus reducing wait times
caused by shipping and customs delays
by nearly six months from UPF events
alone. Growth and diversity of the
device library products has also been
improved in 2006 and the Donation
Program is rapidly gaining momentum.
DEVICE LIBRARY DONATIONS
CATEGORY
2005
2006
Barcode Reader
Camera/Imaging
Car Kit
Headset, Mono
Headset, Stereo
Mouse
Keyboard
Mobile Phone
Music Device
Networking
Print Adapter
Printer
Software
USB Dongle
Total:
0
0
3
7
1
0
1
3
1
0
0
12
1
4
33
1
1
10
20
9
1
0
6
3
1
1
1
0
2
56
15
Printing wirelessly with
BLUETOOTH technology
In 2006, this image was
the Third most downloaded picture from the
Multimedia Press Room
at WWW.BLUETOOTH.COM.
“I applaud your efforts to educate the public
about Bluetooth technology. That is something I did not expect from the Bluetooth SIG.”
“I think that overall the Bluetooth SIG is
doing an incredible job, especially given its
limited resources. Managing the integration
of UWB technology is in my opinion the
biggest challenge ahead.”
Member quotes from
the Member Survey 2006
MA R KETIN G O PP O R TUNITIES
Focus on expanding markets
Dramatic changes seen in marketing activities, brand and research
Device Pairing Videos
The Bluetooth.com Device Pairing Videos
are instructional videos demonstrating the
pairing process. Four hundred possible
combinations of mobile phones, automobiles, printers and other Bluetooth
devices became
available in 2006.
Demand for videos
is strong at more
than 800 daily
video downloads.
Drawing on product donations from
member companies and the
Bluetooth SIG’s
Device Library, the
SIG continues to
add more Device
Pairing Videos at
www.bluetooth.
com/Bluetooth/
Connect/Devices/.
consumers and retailers at a glance
about the products’ functions enhanced
by Bluetooth technology, letting users
focus on experiences and use cases
instead of the specific Bluetooth profiles. By the end of 2006, at least ten
major SIG member
companies were
actively promoting
the Experience
Icons on their product packaging and
marketing material.
Experience Icons aid in
understanding functionality, illustrating
the full capabilities of
Bluetooth devices and
ensuring two devices
will perform a specific
application.
Experience Icon Program
In June, the Bluetooth SIG publicly
launched the Experience Icon program
and promoted it with the “Icon of the
Month” PR campaign through the last
half of 2006. The Experience Icons tell
In preparation for
the launch, the
Bluetooth SIG
commissioned a
study by Millward
Brown to measure
the effectiveness
of the Experience
Icons among average consumers.
The study showed that the large format
Experience Icons reduced the number
of consumers unsure of a Bluetooth
product’s functionality by an average of
50% across all five Icons.
More information is found at www.bluetooth.org/iconprogram/.
Consumer Electronics
Show
Involvement increased in
the Consumer Electronics Show in 2006
by both sponsoring
and participating in
17
the Bluetooth TechZone, sponsoring
the first annual Bluetooth SIG Best of
CES Contest, and participating in Pepcom’s Digital Experience! press event.
In the Best of CES
Contest, 25 Bluetooth
products competed
with the following selected as winners:
• Mobile phone –
Samsung SGHD600
• Headset – Jabra
BT500
• Automotive handsfree – Parrot 3400
LS-GPS
• Stereo audio –
Bluetake Technology i-PHONO mini
Bluetooth Stereo
Headphone
• Printing and imaging – HP Photosmart 385
• PC environment – Logitech diNovo
Media Desktop Laser
• Unique application – Motorola Audex
Protective Gear: Helmet & Padded Hat
• Overall Bluetooth SIG Best of CES
winner – Bluetake i-PHONO mini
Bluetooth Stereo Headphone
gress since 2003. In its inaugural year
in Barcelona, 50,000 visitors attended
3GSM World Congress, making the
event the world’s biggest mobile phone
show. The Bluetooth SIG met with 90
member companies, 12 TV crews,
75 journalists and
three analyst firms.
The Bluetooth SIG
continued to increase
registration and enforcement efforts
with a program to stop
counterfeit products
crossing borders, and
a major change to the
brand book.
3GSM World Congress
In 2006, the Bluetooth SIG had its first
booth presence at 3GSM World Con-
Push marketing
was used to attract
visitors, push out
weather information
and distribute facts
about Bluetooth
technology. Via
an application,
12,000 unique
mobile phones were
identified and approximately 1,500 of
these accepted the
application.
Brand Updates
With every year, the Bluetooth SIG
continues to secure figure mark and
combination mark registrations around
the world. In 2006, the Bluetooth SIG
secured trademark registration in
Iceland. In addition, the Bluetooth SIG
also protected the registered trademarks through the Bluetooth SIG Brand
Enforcement Program. SIG members
noticed the effectiveness of the SIG’s
CES
The Best of CES Contest was the first
18
3GSM WORLD CONGRESS
contest of its kind,
At 3GSM World Con-
serving to highlight
gress in Spain, the
the most innovative,
Bluetooth SIG booth
consumer-friendly
demos focused on
new Bluetooth en-
automotive and out-
abled products. Here,
door leisure activi-
Dr. Mike Foley with
ties and were provid-
Bluetake’s Clement
ed by members.
Wen and Brian WonG.
Brand Enforcement
Program, 107 new enforcement issues
were opened in 2005.
in 2006, that number
increased to 261
where 187 issues
were closed.
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
ed RMB 780,000 (US$ 100,000) were
seized from the manufacturing facility of Shenzhen Bluebird Hi-Tech. Co.
Ltd. The company is currently under
investigation for the manufacturing and
assembling of unqualified Bluetooth
products and illegal trademark use.
BRAND ISSUES
Brand issues opened
Via the Bluetooth SIG
NEW ISSUES OPENED
ISSUES CLOSED
2003
2004
2005
2006
brand enforcement program by raising
their opinions of its effectiveness by
20% since 2003.
With the increase in
counterfeit products on the market, the Bluetooth
SIG recorded the
Bluetooth trademarks with Customs
offices in Australia,
South Korea, and
the United States.
This allowed Customs officials in
those countries to
be better equipped
to identify possible counterfeit
Bluetooth products.
There were more
than 75 reported illegal shipments in
2006. In 2007, the Bluetooth SIG will
expand these efforts – recording the
marks in France, Germany and the
United Kingdom.
Further, the spelling guideline in the
Bluetooth Brand Book was updated.
It is now also possible to translate the
Bluetooth word mark into Traditional
Chinese ‘
’ and Simplified Chinese
‘
’. This change
will help to increase awareness
and brand recognition of the
Bluetooth trademarks in Chinesespeaking countries
tremendously.
The brand book is
located at www.
bluetooth.org/
bluetooth/landing/
brand_tools.php.
For questions
about the
Bluetooth trademarks, possible
violation reporting, etc., please email
[email protected].
In every country
polled, Bluetooth technology is the most
recognized, most purchased short-range
wireless networking
technology on the
market today.
The Bluetooth SIG in APAC focused on
upholding the registered trademarks.
With the full support of the mainland
Chinese government authorities from
the city of Shenzhen, the Bluetooth SIG
conducted its first raid in July 2006.
More than 20,000 pieces of finished
and unfinished goods worth an estimat-
BLUETOOTH BRAND AWARENESS: 2003-2006
US, UK AND JAPAN
60%
66%
72%
37%
2003
2004
2005
2006
19
New Look and Feel
Early in 2006, the Bluetooth SIG
launched a program to refresh the look
and feel of all communication vehicles,
so as to present a unified corporate
presence for all communication items.
The newly re-designed communication
pieces include updated presentations,
business cards, newsletters, web sites,
white papers and case studies. The
bold new style was adopted to clearly
articulate the essence of the Bluetooth
SIG and Bluetooth technology:
• Passionate
• Innovative
• Proactive
•Collaborative
• Accountable
Fourth Annual Millward
Brown Study
The Bluetooth SIG commissioned Millward Brown to study consumer awareness, attitude and usage of Bluetooth
wireless technology. The study polled
2,500 consumers in the United States,
United Kingdom (UK), Germany,
Japan, Taiwan, and, for the first time,
mainland China. In the markets polled,
average awareness was 81%, an increase from 73% in 2005.
An astounding 90% of consumers
now recognize the Bluetooth brand in
20
the UK, China, Germany, and Taiwan.
In the US, which in 2003 had 22% in
awareness, 74% of the respondents
now recognize the Bluetooth brand.
The Bluetooth logo is the best-recognized wireless technology logo
worldwide, with logo recognition rates
continuing to increase far beyond that
of competing wireless technologies.
For the first time, over half of the
respondents in the UK, Germany and
Taiwan claim to have “heard a lot”
about Bluetooth wireless technology,
and over half of the respondents in
those markets report owning at least
one Bluetooth enabled product.
Research Program
The aim of the Bluetooth SIG research
program is to provide timely market
data to Study Groups, Working Groups,
Committees and member companies
ensuring that enhancements such as
the Medical profile and the Experience
Icons address the market’s needs.
Besides distributing the IMS Research
Worldwide Market for Bluetooth Technology to more than 200 Associates
and Promoters, the Bluetooth SIG
secured significant discounts for all
members on this and other shortrange wireless research reports.
PR ESS AND ANALYST IN FLUENCE
Communicating the possibilities
Effective use of press and analyst relations
Background
For a fraction of the cost of traditional
advertising campaigns, the Bluetooth
SIG works with PR agencies around the
world to communicate on a daily basis
with consumers, members and industry
influencers, both directly and via media
and analysts. The
SIG attracts strong
interest from major
analysts, news
and broadcasting
outlets, which is
leveraged in the
PR program.
wire clutter. Spokespeople showcased
Bluetooth devices on the market and
put these devices in the hands of consumers, members, media and analysts.
In the Annual Member Survey, 67% of
the respondents felt that the Bluetooth
SIG has helped to
increase awareness
and understanding
of Bluetooth technology and applications.
In its first year, more
than 1,600 video clips
and 1,000 still images
were requested by 157 Outreach
In 2006, the SIG
media outlets in 58 issued 19 press
releases; the March
countries from the Mul- release regarding
the Bluetooth SIG’s
timedia Press Center. choice of WiMedia
“Not Just a
Headset”
In 2006, the public
relations team focused on shifting
the understanding
of Bluetooth technology uses from “just
the headset” to mobile printing, handsfree calling in the car, listening to music
and clearing the desk of unnecessary
UWB garnered the
most interest from media and analysts.
In 2006, the Bluetooth SIG performed a
total of 927 interviews landing an average of about 75 journalist meetings/in-
NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED IN 2006
150
EMEA
APAC
120
AMERICAS
90
60
30
J
A
N
F
E
B
M
A
R
A
P
R
M
A
Y
J
U
N
J
U
L
A
U
G
S
E
P
O
C
T
N
O
V
D
E
C
21
Analyst Relations
With analysts, the Bluetooth SIG has
achieved such a good position that
analysts often reach out to the SIG for
reports and to gather feedback. Out of
132 analysts that the Bluetooth SIG works
with regularly, most are very positive
or neutral in their opinion of Bluetooth
technology and only two are negative.
DIGITALLIFE
The US PR team waits
for the doors to
open at the 2006 DigitalLife.
terviews per month. Further, there was
outreach to another 500 a month with
invitations to press/demo events, personal interviews, etc. For detailed information, see the Global PR and Analyst
Report at www.bluetooth.org/globalpr/.
Multimedia Press Center
In February, the Bluetooth SIG introduced a dedicated online Multimedia Press
Center primarily intended to give journalists access to broadcast-standard video,
audio and print-quality images.
The Multimedia Press Center received
more than 27,000 individual orders for
materials, ensuring the SIG is responsive and accommodating to journalists
covering wireless communications. Even
though the press center on Bluetooth.
com is primarily intended for media,
members can also request copies of
the material available on this site and perhaps more importantly - are encouraged to submit material for inclusion.
During 2006, the Bluetooth SIG conducted its first analyst summit in London with High Speed Bluetooth technology as a theme. Fourteen analysts
registered and key members such as
Motorola and CSR contributed with insights from their respective views. The
roundtable session was facilitated by
Vince Holton, editor of Incisor, and
topics such as timing, naming and
applications were discussed. Since the
summit was well received by the analysts and it served as a good platform
to influence the analysts, the Bluetooth
SIG is aiming for a repeat in 2007.
Bluetooth Café
Derek Soh, Technical
Marketing Manager
of Bluetooth SIG
APAC interviewed by
Taiwan press on new
Bluetooth applications.
Lenovo ANNOUNCEMENT
Henry Chai, Ph.D, Director of Strategic
Technology Alliance,
3GSM WORLD CONGRESS
Lenovo Corporate R&D,
Anders Edlund, EMEA
and Linda Ho, APAC
Marketing Cirector,
Marketing Director,
showed many member
AT the press confer-
applications to the
ence when Lenovo
12 TV crews and 75
was announced as A
journalists visiting
Promoter member.
the Booth.
22
Hands-free calls in car
In 2006, this image was
the FOURTH most downloaded picture from the
Multimedia Press Room at
WWW.BLUETOOTH.COM.
“The Bluetooth SIG contributes a lot
on wireless short range technology
and it is recognized by the industry.
My hope is for the Bluetooth SIG
to further influence the industry,
achieving even better results for us
as members.”
Member quote from
the Member Survey 2006
FINANCES
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
REVENUE FISCAL YEAR 2006
Interest
INTEREST
Licensing
LICENSING
Unplugfest events
UNPLUGFESTS
MembershipDUES
dues
MEMBERSHIP
Registration
REGISTRATION
EXPENSES FISCAL YEAR 2006
Legal
LEGAL
Operations
OPERATIONS
Technical
TECHNICAL
Marketing
MARKETING
24
Ordinary Income/Expense
Income
Membership Dues
3 283 950
Registrations
6 417 453
Licensing
167 245
UnPlugFests
527 676
Interest
69 942
Total Income
10 466 266
Expense
Operations
Salary & Incentives
343 860 Taxes & Benefits
66 804 Travel & Expenses
126 557 Office Expenses
558 932 Meeting Services
56 866 Insurance Expense
52 208 Accounting
51 226 Contingencies
104 079
Total Operations
1 360 533
Profit & Loss
January–December 2006
(All figures in U.S. dollars)
Marketing
Salary/Incentives
1 068 521
Taxes/Benefits
159 709
Travel & Expenses
226 850
Sponsorship/Advertising 834 888
Online Marketing
223 260
Collateral 143 749
Research
342 272
E-mail Marketing 76 548
Events
117 968
Localization
39 685
Membership
683 348 Public Relations
2 039 833 Total Marketing
5 956 631 Technical
Salary/Incentives
1 169 879
Taxes/Benefits
267 998 Travel & Expenses
165 104
On-Line Team
30 748
PTS Team
655 148
BTI/ Regulatory
242 643
UnPlugFest Events
658 073 Qualweb Maintenance
29 357 Total Technical
3 218 951 Legal
Patent
6 974 Trademark Web Protection
42 609 IRS Counsel
154 526 Operations Counsel
301 794 Trademark Counsel
757 068 Total LegaL
1 262 970 Total Expense
11 799 085 Net Ordinary Income
(1 332 819)
Other Income/Expense
Other Income
Federal and State Taxes
465 117
State/City Excise Tax
(60 280)
Total Other Income
404 837
Net Other Income
404 837
Net Income
(927 983)
25
ASSETS
Current Assets
Checking/Savings
Chinatrust Money Market
394 506
Chinatrust Bank
16 682
Gold Bank
740 523
Charles Schwab
2 256 411
Total Checking/Savings
3 408 121
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Receivable
675 455
Total Accounts Receivable
675 455
Other Current Assets
Prepaid Expenses
453 698
Total Other Current Assets
453 698
Total Current Assets
Balance Sheet
As of December 31, 2006
(All figures in U.S. dollars)
4 537 275
Fixed Assets
Test Vectors
0
Software
2 542
Furniture & Equipment
126 247
Leasehold Improvements
56 644
Total Fixed Assets
185 434
Other Assets
Security Deposit
9 876
Total Other Assets
9 876
TOTAL ASSETS
4 732 585
LIABILITIES & EQUITY
Liabilities
Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable
Accounts Payable
1 409 460
Total Accounts Payable
1 409 460
Credit Cards
American Express
116 834
Total Credit Cards
116 834
Other Current Liabilities
Accrued Expenses
145 251
Deferred Revenue
2 253 487
Total Other Current Liabilities
Total Current Liabilities
Total Liabilities
2 398 738
3 925 032
3 925 032
Equity
Retained Earnings
1 735 536
Net Income
-927 983
Total Equity
807 553
TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY
4 732 585
Disclaimer and Copyright Notice:
The information included in this document is believed to be correct; however, neither BLUETOOTH SIG, INC. nor
any of its agents or participants have independently verified such information. Thus, such information is provided “as
is” with no warranties by BLUETOOTH SIG, INC. or anyone else whatsoever, as to the accuracy, completeness or
reliability of such information, including any warranty of merchantability, noninfringement, fitness for any particular
purpose or any warranty otherwise arising out of any of such information. Any liability, including liability for infringement of any proprietary rights, relating to use of information in this document is specifically disclaimed.
26
No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property rights are granted herein. The
information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No products
should be designed based on such information. The Bluetooth trademarks are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Other trademarks and trade names in this document are those of their respective owners. © Bluetooth SIG, Inc. 2007.
Looking Ahead
As we move forward, we envision there being a Bluetooth solution
for every popular scenario encompassed in a wireless personal
area network. By the time we reach 2010, more than two billion devices will ship EVERY YEAR. Nearly every mobile phone
sold worldwide will be Bluetooth enabled, along with the majority
of PCs. Bluetooth technology will provide wireless connectivity
among nearly every category of consumer electronics devices,
from music players, cameras and printers to televisions and settop boxes. And people will use Bluetooth technology everyday in
an ever-growing number of ways.
New applications will enhance the lives of people of all ages: fast
media transfer will let young people share and enjoy each other’s
music and video, while remote health monitors will allow the elderly more freedom to manage their own health and aging.
To achieve this vision, the Bluetooth Specifications will continue to
evolve, leveraging the success of the current use cases to enable
new ones. Bluetooth technology will have evolved into a wireless
umbrella that unites many physical radio technologies under one
interoperable specification utilizing the Bluetooth profiles. Users
will see a seamless experience while taking advantage of the best
radio technology for each task, from high data rate transfer of
large media files to extremely low power consumption for optimum
battery life.
In short, thanks to the vision, know-how, and determination of our
members, we will have delivered on our greatest promise: giving
more people the freedom to live life on their own terms.
Join us as we work to make this vision a reality!
Virtual business card exchange
In 2006, this image was the FifTH
most downloaded picture from
the Multimedia Press Room at
WWW.BLUETOOTH.COM.
HEADQUARTERS
Bellevue, Washington
Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
500 108th Avenue NE
Suite 250
Bellevue, WA 98004
USA
Phone: +1.425.691.3535
REGIONAL OFFICES
Malmö, Sweden
Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
205 19 Malmö
Sweden
Visiting address: Tyrénshuset, Isbergs gata 15
Phone: +46.40.6115930
Hong Kong
Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
Level 25, Bank of China Tower
1 Garden Road, Central
Hong Kong
Phone: +852.2251.8717