Bluetooth vs. Infrared
"Some would say that the scent of panic is becoming apparent, with IrDA clinging to the assertion that Bluetooth is a complementing technology rather than a replacement for IrDA," reported Michael Wall, Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
Lawrence Faulkner, executive director of IrDA, recently went on record to defend IrDA against the perceived Bluetooth-driven death of Infrared. Faulkner was keen to point out the similarities between the two technologies, saying that Bluetooth has borrowed the OBEX file transfer protocol from IrDA, and IrDA is apparently keen to foster cooperation with its Bluetooth counterpart the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG).
Supporting the case of IrDA is the fact that Infrared is the cheapest short-range wireless communications technology available today, the line-of-sight issue makes it fairly secure as a transmission medium, and it has a theoretically higher data rate than Bluetooth.
Against IrDA is the general apathy of mobile device users toward Infrared. It is the most common short-range wireless technology but very few people actually use it. The line-of-sight requirement makes the technology less flexible than Bluetooth, and there have long been problems with interoperability between Infrared-enabled devices.
Frost & Sullivan believes that IrDA will begin to decline as Bluetooth grows in stature. The cost of Bluetooth is falling all the time, and although it will be many years before it reaches the cost level of Infrared, it is difficult to see the cost of Infrared falling too much from its current level.
The mooted future increases in the data rate of Bluetooth and the resolution of short-term security issues should strip away most of the remaining advantages of Infrared as a wireless connectivity technology. However, Frost & Sullivan does not expect Infrared to disappear altogether. The technology will still be used in low-end applications such as remote controls for televisions and other consumer goods. The low cost and maturity of the technology still makes it very attractive in applications where no more than the simplest of wireless connectivity is required.
"There can be little doubt that IrDA has done much to promote the benefits of Infrared, though their efforts have met with limited success," Wall said.
There is now a strong feeling that Infrared may be about to be confined to the dustbin of bright ideas that never quite lived up to their potential. Could Bluetooth be the final nail in the IrDA coffin?
Edited by Ellen Jensen
Managing Editor, Wireless Networks Online