Ericsson received innovations award for driving Bluetooth development

Ericsson received innovations award for driving Bluetooth development At CeBIT in Hannover, Ericsson was awarded with German computing magazine CHIP's innovation award for driving the development of Bluetooth wireless technology. The award was given Ericsson for its commitment to Bluetooth and driving the standard but also for its Bluetooth headset, a lightweight, wireless mobile phone headset, and its Bluetooth Development Kit, a set which enables other developers to develop products and solutions for the Bluetooth specification. Bluetooth is a specification for a small form-factor, low-cost radio solution providing links between mobile computers, mobile phones and other portable devices. In Chip's motivation it is said that "The good thing about Bluetooth is obvious: at last the cable-mess is over. Ericsson has not only launched the first Bluetooth device, a wireless headset for mobile phones, the Swedish phone manufacturer also has a developer's kit and thereby enables a broad spread of this innovative technology." At CeBIT, Ericsson demonstrated several Bluetooth products - the Bluetooth Headset and the Bluetooth Phone Adapter. The Bluetooth Headset is a practical mobile phone headset that connects to a mobile phone by a Bluetooth radio link instead of a cable. The Bluetooth Phone Adapter can be used both to enable the mobile phone to transmit voice to your Bluetooth Headset and to transmit data to your personal computer. These two products are the first to incorporate Bluetooth wireless technology. Both products will be available on the market in mid 2000. Also on show was the Ericsson Screen Phone, with which the user is freed to browse the Internet, send e-mails and make phone calls simultaneously from the comfort of their sofa. This product defines a new product category, fusing Bluetooth connectivity and the Internet, telephony and e-mail into a convenient well designed package. The Ericsson Bluetooth Development kit provides a complete and flexible design environment within which engineers can integrate this open standard into a wide range of digital devices. "If you look around you, everything you see will be connected - and by creating an open specification for wireless communication between devices, Ericsson is making it happen, with Bluetooth wireless technology," says Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications at Ericsson Mobile Communications. "We regard openness and innovativeness as the most important factors for success in the mobile communications business today and in the future." Bluetooth wireless technology is set to revolutionize the personal connectivity market by providing freedom from wired connections. It is a specification for a small form-factor, low-cost radio solution providing links between mobile computers, mobile phones and other portable and held devices, and connectivity to the Internet. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), comprised of leaders in the telecommunications, computing, and network industries, is driving development of the technology and bringing it to market. The Bluetooth SIG includes promoter companies 3Com, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Lucent, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia and Toshiba, and more than 1300 adopter companies. Bluetooth is a trademark owned by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Sweden." Additional information about Bluetooth is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.ericsson.com/bluetooth and also at http://www.bluetooth.com Pictures of the new Ericsson Bluetooth headset can be downloaded from: http://www.ericsson.com/pressroom/phli_pcoph.shtml Additional information about Ericsson mobile phones is available on the World Wide Web at http://mobile.ericsson.com Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications Ericsson Mobile Communications AB Phone: +46 70 590 9900 Bo Albertson, Marketing Director, Information and Events Ericsson Mobile Communications AB Phone: + 46 8 764 1388, +46 70 510 0992