Microsoft will not add support for Bluetooth to its next version of the Windows operating system, XP. The company is one of the lead members of the trade group that is developing the Bluetooth standard.
The lack of support from the software giant isn't fatal, but it will likely slow the technology's once strong momentum. Without Microsoft, Bluetooth adoption becomes slightly more onerous for hardware manufacturers and software developers as the software giant won't deliver a family of device drivers or other software to simplify how the technology gets incorporated.
The main problem? The Bluetooth juggernaut never materialised. "Production-quality hardware and software for Bluetooth isn't available," said a Microsoft representative. "Including Bluetooth support in Windows XP wouldn't deliver the type of experience Microsoft wants to deliver to customers."
Microsoft announced it would provide hardware and software support for Bluetooth by the first half of 2001 if production-level Bluetooth hardware and software was available.
"If anything, this move by Microsoft is a wake-up call to the Bluetooth folks that they need to get their products out there," Gartner analyst Chris LeTocq said.
Wireless networking alternatives, such as 802.11b, have also caught the industry's fancy. Both technologies allow consumers to wirelessly tap into standard networks. The infrastructure for 802.11b, however, is much further along. NEC and other notebook makers, for example, will release 802.11b-enabled notebooks later this Spring.
Microsoft has announced it will support 802.11x in Windows XP.
The Bluetooth reversal came as a surprise to some industry insiders. "With the kind of support from manufacturers and developers that Bluetooth has, I'm surprised that Microsoft would leave Bluetooth out," said Ken Hyers, research analyst at Cahners In-Stat Group.
"Any reasonable followers of Bluetooth would agree that the first half of this year was pretty early to expect anything from Bluetooth," Hyers added, saying the end of the year is a more likely time frame for products to be available.
LeTocq said that Microsoft can still add Bluetooth support with a relatively easy upgrade.
