ABI Research Finds ULP Bluetooth Ready to Revolutionize the Role of PAN Technologies in Sports, Wellbeing, and Exercise Markets

Business Wire, Oct 16, 2007

LONDON -- ULP Bluetooth (formerly Wibree) holds the key to a huge potential market for personal area network sensors in the areas of sports, exercise, health, and wellbeing. ABI Research forecasts that by 2012 the market for ULP enabled PAN sensors in this area will represent nearly 140 million units. The technology research firm expects sports and exercise applications to take the early lead in this market.

Research director Stuart Carlaw says, "Although health insurers have a significant motivation to adopt wireless PAN technologies in order to reduce the total cost of care, it is likely that the traditional health bodies' inertia when faced with such new developments will ensure that the healthcare market plays second fiddle to the sports and exercise sector."

Carlaw goes on to add, "The Nike experience clearly shows the value of integrating PAN technologies into a wider solution that includes premium sports equipment, online communities, and brand leaders in the consumer electronics environment."

A new ABI Research study, "PAN Technologies in Medical/ Exercise and Wellbeing Applications" finds that PAN technologies are seen as valuable tools to provide brand stickiness for sports equipment vendors and to entice consumers into repeat purchases of premium products.

This market, to date, is dominated by 2.4GHz and 5KHz products but ULP Bluetooth's promise of economies of scale will be too good to miss. More interestingly, the sports environment might prove the concept of PAN technologies in this usage scenario and may lead to innovative solutions such as whole-home sensor networks that enable innovative applications like remote assisted living.

PAN Technologies in Medical/ Exercise and Wellbeing Applications (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/research_brief/Short-Range_Wirele ss_Market_Update/107 or http://www.abiresearch.com/products/research_brief/M2M_Market_Update/1 14) examines the opportunities for personal area technologies in the wellbeing, health and sports and exercise markets. The brief includes analysis of the applications, drivers, and barriers that are likely to affect the uptake of technologies such as Bluetooth, ULP Bluetooth, 2.4GHz proprietary solutions, and 5KHz proprietary solutions.

It forms part of two Research Services, Short-Range Wireless Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/Short_Range_Wireless_Rese arch_Service), and M2M Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/M2M_Research_Service) which also include other Research Briefs, Research Reports, Market Data, ABI Insights, the ABI Vendor Matrix, and analyst inquiry support.

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Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations supporting annual research programs, intelligence services, and market reports in broadband and multimedia, RFID and M2M, wireless connectivity, mobile wireless, transportation, and emerging technologies. For information, visit www.abiresearch.com, or call 1.516.624.2500.