Bluetooth Moves into Stereo as Headphones Begin to Ship -- Consumers Interested, Reports In-Stat/MDR.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- A recent survey of In-Stat/MDR's (http://www.instat.com) Technology Adoption Panel indicates solid, positive potential for Bluetooth stereo headphones/headsets. To date, the emphasis has been on mono headsets used for mobile phones. This has been primarily driven by HandsFree regulations and the movement toward the safety and convenience of cordless headsets. The emerging headsets that are just about to begin making splashes in retail are stereo headphones for listening to music, as well as for receiving/making phone calls.

"However, this growth potential is tempered by the challenge of providing such a product for a low price," said Joyce Putscher, director of In-Stat/MDR's Converging Markets and Technologies Group. "Consumers also need to be aware that the true product differentiator in a Bluetooth version of cordless headphones is the advantage of using a worldwide standard that has the ability to multi-task and be usable with many devices that have embedded Bluetooth, such as making mobile phone calls and listening to MP3 music from a laptop or other source."

In-Stat/MDR has also found that:

--Although supply for Bluetooth headsets in Europe essentially cannot keep up with demand, the U.S. market has been slow, due primarily to the availability of Bluetooth mobile phones, and lack of promotion by operators to emphasize the consumer benefits of Bluetooth headsets.

--In 2004, headset shipments have risen due to higher demand than expected in Europe. In 2005-2008 In-Stat/MDR expects a rise in Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone availability in the United States by operators that have not offered them to date, such as Verizon. In-Stat/MDR's worldwide forecast for Bluetooth mono headsets in 2004 and through 2008 has been increased significantly.

--Products this year that have complied with Bluetooth 1.2, which includes the Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) profile, are primarily headsets, PDAs, and other computing devices; only a few 1.2 mobile phones have been qualified so far.

--The Bluetooth chipset market will slightly more than double from 2003 to 2004, to 146 million units. This is directly following a year when the market almost doubled, from 2002 to 2003.

The report, "Bluetooth Forecast Update: Survey Reveals Interest in Cordless Stereo Headphones" (#IN0401213MI), provides forecasts for manufactured Bluetooth-enabled equipment and semiconductor shipments by detailed application. The forecast for radio, baseband, and host-supported silicon solutions is presented, as well as semiconductor shipments by HCI breakout, geographic region shipments and design wins, shipments by Class 1 vs. Class 2/3, and application segmentations for Class 1. Years 2001-2008 are provided. Also included are consumer survey results from our U.S.-based panel, and from a U.S. residential telephone survey. To purchase this report, or for more information, please visit: http://www.instat.com/catalog/Ccatalogue.asp?id=161 or contact Erin McKeighan at 480-609-4551; [e-mail]. The report price is $3,495.

About In-Stat/MDR

In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com) offers a broad range of information resources and analytical assets to technology vendors, service providers, technology professionals, and market specialists worldwide. The company stands alone in its ability to integrate both supply-side and demand-side research methodologies into a single comprehensive view of technology markets and products. This capability relies on a unique ability to cover the entire value chain from engineering-level technology, through equipment, infrastructure, services and end users.

In-Stat/MDR is part of the Reed Electronics Group, a division of Reed Elsevier (www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider. With more than 38,000 employees worldwide, Reed Elsevier operates in the science & medical, legal, education and business-to-business industry sectors, providing high value and flexible information solutions to professional end users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet.