Psion Dacom joins Bluetooth

European PC Card modem leader Psion Dacom has joined the Bluetooth initiative. Bluetooth, led by Intel, Nokia, Ericsson, Toshiba and IBM, is being developed as a connectivity standard for local wireless communications, allowing seamless data exchange between devices within a ten metre radius. The first products based on the system, which has already gained broad industry support, are promised for the second half of next year. Bluetooth uses the 2.45 GHz ISM band, which is freely-available, and free, internationally, and isn't line-of-sight. It canalso support both point to point and multi-point connections, so could finally deliver systems that automatically communicate, and join and leave networks, when you walk in and out of buildings. Psion Dacom's entry points the way for other modem manufacturers, all of whom have been busily cramming more and more features onto PC cards. But once you've got network, modem and mobile phone, the extras you canput there get more esoteric. Psion Dacom now has ISDN as well, via a deal with Eicon, so wireless local comms is the logical next step. Psion Dacom's parent company, Psion plc, is already indirectly involved in Bluetooth via its Symbian joint venture with Nokia and Ericsson, and its relationship with ARM, which joined Bluetooth recently. ® Click for more stories