Bluetooth Special Interest Group Heightens Awareness of Bluetooth Wireless Technology at CES
'OPERATION BLUESHOCK' Lays Groundwork for Member Companies Promoting Bluetooth Products

LAS VEGAS, Jan 09, 2004 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Today and yesterday at the 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, tradeshow attendees were treated to a rare sight -- a marketing stunt that broke through the noisy tradeshow floor and made an impression that viewers are not soon to forget. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), along with marketing and events specialist GamePlan Marketing, executed Operation Blueshock, a smart, unique, and cost-effective way for the non-profit trade association to build awareness around Bluetooth, the short-range wireless technology the SIG is charged with promoting to the consumer market in 2004.


Approximately 300 models, adorned in evening attire and sunglasses, spread like a virus (think Thomas Crowne Affair) through the Las Vegas Convention Center's North, South and Central halls on Thursday and Friday, passing out cards to CES attendees along the way. Curious watchers received cards in one of seven different languages bearing one of eight distinct messages. "Simplify your life," "I do not seek, I discover," and "Connect to each other" are just a few examples of the messages presented on the different cards. Different languages were used to represent that Bluetooth wireless technology is a global standard, making its way into over 1000 products around the world shipping at a rate of approximately one million units per week. Late Friday afternoon, the impressive group made one last walk in unison through the halls, saying "Bluetooth" as they passed.

"People sought out our booth and asked questions about Bluetooth specifically because of Operation Blueshock," said Nathan Papadopulos, spokesperson for Logitech. "The SIG's activities at CES this year definitely heightened awareness of Bluetooth wireless technology, which in turn benefits member companies like Logitech."

"The Bluetooth SIG came to us with the challenge of meeting one of its key objectives -- garnering attention for member companies and their products made with Bluetooth wireless technology," said Tim Hayden, president, GamePlan Marketing. "Operation Blueshock was a unique way to compete with the marketing noise at CES, supplementing individual member company efforts, and ultimately meeting this objective."

Operation Blueshock is the kick-off point of the Bluetooth SIG's 2004 marketing and public relations campaign targeted at the consumer. "Consumers are largely still in the dark about Bluetooth wireless technology," said Mike McCamon, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. "But finally, there are enough products on the shelves, and more to come soon as seen by the many product launches at CES, that we believe 2004 is the year the consumer meets Bluetooth -- and understands why they want it in their lives."

About the Bluetooth SIG, Inc.

Bluetooth(R) wireless technology is revolutionizing 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 handheld 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 group companies Agere, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia and Toshiba, and thousands of Associate and Adopter member companies. The Bluetooth SIG, Inc. headquarters are located in Overland Park, Kansas, U.S.A. For more information please visit www.bluetooth.com .

The Bluetooth word mark and logo are registered trademarks and are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc.

Press Contacts:
Starr Million
Porter Novelli for the Bluetooth SIG
512.241.2237
starr.million@porternovelli.com

Kari Hernandez
Porter Novelli for the Bluetooth SIG
512.241.2236
kari.Hernandez@porternovelli.com

SOURCE Bluetooth SIG, Inc.


Starr Million, +1-512-241-2237, or
starr.million@porternovelli.com , or Kari Hernandez, +1-512-241-2236, or
kari.Hernandez@porternovelli.com , both of Porter Novelli, for Bluetooth SIG,
Inc.

PBS | I, Cringely . Archived Column

JANUARY 8, 2004

For love not money:

How WhyFi can turn hotspots into a real industry

By Robert X. Cringely

WiFi -- 802.11b, -a, and -g wireless networking -- is the big Internet success story of this decade. It's successful because it is simple, cheap, and unlicensed. And that lack of a required license is taking WiFi places nobody ever expected it to go. How could a local area networking technology, for example, compete with and even threaten such entrenched (and licensed) technologies as mobile and wired telephones and even broadband Internet? It's not because WiFi is so good but because it is so free of restrictions that we can turn it into whatever we want. And in this case "we" means just about anyone. But the big money lately seems to be going into WiFi hotspots and hotspot aggregation. And as promised last week, I think the current aggregators are going about it all wrong.

CALL FOR PAPERS



MOBILE HCI 2004

The 6th International Conference on

Human-Computer Interaction with

Mobile Devices and Services



13-16 September, 2004

Glasgow, UK



Chairs

Mark Dunlop, University of Strathclyde

Stephen Brewster, University of Glasgow





www.mobilehci.org








The 6th conference in the MOBILE HCI series provides a forum for academics and practitioners to discuss the challenges and potential solutions for effective interaction with mobile systems and services. It covers the design, evaluation and application of techniques and approaches for all mobile computing devices and services. Suggested topics include but are not limited to:



* Audio and speech interaction

* Context-dependent systems

* Designing Web sites for mobile devices

* Evaluation of mobile devices and services

* Intelligent environments

* Design of systems for older users and users with disabilities

* Location-aware interaction

* Model-based design of interactive mobile systems

* Multimodal interaction

* Novel user interfaces

* Perception and modelling of the environment

* Safety issues (e.g., in-car user interfaces)

* Graphics on mobile devices

* 3G/4G devices and services

* Usability of mobile devices and services

* Visualization techniques for the mobile context





SUBMISSIONS

There are 5 categories for submission: FULL PAPERS, SHORT PAPERS, POSTERS, TUTORIALS and WORKSHOPS. Full details on submission can be found at www.mobilehci.org. Accepted FULL PAPERS, SHORT PAPERS and POSTERS will appear in the conference proceedings, published by Springer Verlag in the LECTURE NOTES in COMPUTER SCIENCE series.



IMPORTANT DEADLINES:

FULL PAPERS and WORKSHOPS submission: 5 March 2004

Notification: 16 April 2004



SHORT PAPERS, TUTORIALS

POSTERS and WORKSHOPS submission: 7 May 2004

Notification: 4 June 2004



MORE INFORMATION

See the conference Web page at www.mobilehci.org, or contact:



Programme Chair:

Prof Stephen Brewster

Department of Computing Science

University of Glasgow

Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK

e-mail: stephen@dcs.gla.ac.uk

phone: +44 (0)141 330 4966

fax: +44(0)141 330 4913 or



Conference Chair:

Dr Mark Dunlop

Computer and Information Sciences,

University of Strathclyde,

Richmond St.

Glasgow G1 1XH, UK

e-mail: mark.dunlop@cis.strath.ac.uk

phone: +44 (0)141 548 3497

fax: +44 (0)141 552 5330











Life in the East Valley of Phoenis, AZ

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wirelesslan/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blueinfo/

http://www.wlan.tk/

CellStar Gives Sneak Peek of World's First True Wireless Web Viewer
- CellStar's PocketSurfer(TM) Provides the Real Web, Unaltered in the Palm of Your Hand, Anywhere, Anytime Using Virtually any Wireless Service

LAS VEGAS, Jan 08, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via Comtex/ -- INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW 2004 -- CellStar Corporation (Nasdaq: CLST), a value-added wireless logistics services leader, today previewed the PocketSurfer(TM), a first-of-its-kind dedicated wireless Web viewer that provides fast, affordable, full Web access -- just like at work or at home -- in the palm of your hand.

Unlike anything on the market, CellStar's ultra-thin PocketSurfer will be available later this year and delivers, even in today's low bandwidth wireless environment, full and fast access. Using Bluetooth technology, the device connects wirelessly to your handset and access is provided through virtually any wireless network provider.

Based on patented breakthrough technology, PocketSurfer offers a full Web experience in a matter of seconds, faster than most PDAs or other wireless devices. As the first complete, yet truly mobile, view of the Web, the PocketSurfer's larger screen delivers an experience similar to that of the desktop - through a full VGA-width, 640-pixel, color screen, compared to 320 pixels on most PDAs and 120 pixels on most wireless phones.

"With up to five times the screen size of other handheld devices, PocketSurfer is like viewing the Web on a movie screen. It's the real Web as people have come to experience it - and expect it - on their desktop," said Chris Smith, senior vice president and general manager of CellStar's U.S. region. "The PocketSurfer wireless Web viewer provides the freedom to fully use the Internet from anywhere, a car, a hotel, the airport, a mall - all from an innovative device that's small enough to fit in your pocket."

With the PocketSurfer, consumers can surf the Internet with full browser capabilities, and take advantage of an infinite variety of communication (e- mail and messaging), content (news, weather, sports, entertainment) and commerce applications (finance, sales force automation, field service, auctions, shopping).

CellStar's PocketSurfer wireless Web viewer provides a desktop-like Internet experience with content downloading in as little as seven seconds, and even faster on 2.5 and 3G networks. It provides full, unaltered Web access without 'scrunching' content through Web clipping, transcoding or reformatting. PocketSurfer users will be able to access the Web in its original HTML content, with the original layout and full graphics in seconds.

"For the first time, you can see the Web just like you are accustomed to seeing it at home or work. What does that mean? It means that you get the speed, convenience and ease-of-use that you have always wanted. The Web can now be with you anytime, anywhere," said Smith. "This device is going to revolutionize people's ability to fully leverage the Web wirelessly."

Product Specs

PocketSurfer Web viewer connects to handsets wirelessly via Bluetooth technology. Adapters will be available for most phones that are not Bluetooth enabled. A full "QWERTY" thumb keyboard allows for fast data entry, while a lithium ion rechargeable battery keeps the device powered through active usage for four to six hours. Developed by Montreal-based Datawind Net Access Corporation, PocketSurfer measures 5.98 inches by 2.75 inches by .58 inches.

Pricing and Availability

PocketSurfer will be available the third quarter of 2004, and is expected to retail for $199.00 MSRP, plus an Internet service access fee.

For additional information visit www.pocketsurfer.net.

About CellStar Corporation

CellStar Corporation is a leading global provider of value-added logistics services to the wireless communications industry, with operations primarily in the Asia-Pacific, North American and Latin American regions. CellStar facilitates the effective and efficient distribution of handsets, related accessories and other wireless products from leading manufacturers to network operators, agents, resellers, dealers and retailers. CellStar also provides activation services in some of its markets that generate new subscribers for wireless carriers. For the year ended November 30, 2002, the Company generated revenues of $2.2 billion. Additional information about CellStar may be found on its Web site at www.cellstar.com.

SOURCE CellStar Corporation

Alicia A. Thomas, +1-972-401-7798, or althomas@cellstar.com, or
Sherrian Gunn, +1-972-466-5031, or sgunn@cellstar.com, both of CellStar
Corporation

The Contra Costa Times: "Bluetooth
Bluetooth, the wireless technology that replaces the cables on electronics, is set to have a big year in 2004. The companies that see the trends first -- companies like chip maker Broadcom and testing equipment-maker Agilent Technologies -- are confident of it. In the past, the companies said, manufacturers of products like keyboards and headsets had focused on perfecting one piece of the Bluetooth technology. But now they're ready to introduce full-fledged products. Once a few PCs start shipping with built-in Bluetooth keyboards and mice, watch skeptics start jumping onto the Bluetooth bandwagon. In August, around back-to-school season, we'll be saying we told you so."