Bluetooth is the ideal technology for mobile phone based locking solutions. This white paper provides a comparison of Bluetooth against other wireless technologies in the market today. Why Bluetooth? Bluetooth is the ideal technology for a mobile phone locking solution because it is; - Widely adopted and installed in mobile devices, (450 Million Bluetooth devices by the end of 2005 representing 39% of phone sales and growing, 5 times more than WiFi.).
- Low battery use
- High adoption rates, (see graph)
- Secure (128 bit encryption)
- Global standard (unlike Radio Frequency)
- No usage charges (unlike text based solutions through the major Telcos).
- Global backers through a Special Interest Group (SIG) of 1300 members.
- Location based services (1-100meters)
- One key for many locks (unlike RFID Tags)
- Many keys for one lock
Global Bluetooth Growth 2003-2008 
Market summary The following is a summary of the various wireless technologies available in the market today. | Technology | Description | Backers | Range | Purpose | Advantages | Disadvantages | In Mobile Phones | | Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1) | Mobile component standard with some PC peripherals crossover | Bluetooth SIG including Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, Honda | Across the room | Mobile headsets, in-vehicle hands-free control | Growing installation base, integrated in mobile phones, Global standard | Transfer speed | YES | | Mobile (CDMA, UTMS, GPRS, etc) | Multiple generations of mobile infrastructure are currently culminating in 3G rollout | Mobile operators, Nokia, Ericsson | Everywhere | Voice calls, data transfer | Ubiquitous network | Charges per access through the major Telcos. Relies on Telco Network for access - not secure | YES | | Infrared (IR) | Largely legacy line-of-sight connectivity; still dominant in remote controls | Few backers | Across the room | TV control, mobile synching | Large installed base | Old technology, being surpassed by other offers. Requires line of sight. | YES | | Radio Frequency | Active and passive radio frequency transponders and receivers | Various | Across the room | Garage door openers, car alarms | Passive and active tags | Separate key for each lock, Different frequencies in different countries preventing global standardisation | X | | Near Field Communications (NFC) | Passive, (very) short-range data transmission between adjacent objects | Nokia, Philips, Sony, Samsung | Across the room | Contactless ID cards | | Standards, availability of readers and privacy concerns | X | | UWB (ultra-wide band) | Supplement to wired home infrastructure; gives more freedom than cables - positioned as "wireless USB" | Freescale Semi-conductors, Intel, Texas Instruments | Across the room | CE/PC device connectivity | Fast | Standards war; no commercial products yet | X | | ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) | Very-low-power wireless standard for networking of devices/appliances - both industrial and at home | Philips, Motorola | Household | Lighting and heating controls | Very-low-power | Low uptake | X | | Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) | Wireless IP-based networking that replaces wired Ethernet solutions | Intel, NetGear | Household | Home networking, hotspot access | High throughput | Security, quality of service, and a tricky con?guration, high power drain | X | Other emerging technologies competing with Mobile carriers includes Fixed WiMAX (IEEE 802.16d), Mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e), MobileFi (802.20). Data Sources: - Gartner November 2004 Market Focus: Bluetooth in Mobile Phones, Worldwide, 2004-2008
- Forrester: December 22, 2004 Charting The Future Of Tech Connections, How The Myriad Options For Consumer Technology Connectivity Stack Up
- Bluetooth SIG .www.bluetooth.org Press Releases 2003-2005
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