TELECOMS & MOBILE
Bluetooth boom spawns 'bluejacking'
04-11-2003
by
With Bluetooth finding its way into an increasing number of devices, a new pastime called 'bluejacking' has popped up.
In simple terms, bluejacking is the art of anonymously sending messages to users of other Bluetooth devices who have switched on the technology and made their handset "visible" to potential bluejackers. Since Bluetooth-enabled phones, PDAs and laptops can search for other devices within their short range, bluejackers in crowded transport hubs, pubs or any other public place can easily send off messages without being detected.
Recipients must, however, accept the incoming data and as such bluejackers are unable to send long messages since they may be refused. The get around this, the sender could set their username as "You have just been Bluejacked!" so that would-be victims receive a message along the lines of "Income message from: 'You have just been Bluejacked.' Would you like to accept?"
Though certainly an annoyance, bluejacking does not pose a security threat and individuals wishing to avoid the aggravation can set their device to "invisible" or can simply shut off Bluetooth when not using it.
Though the ranks of bluejackers remain small, chatter on Internet forums about the hobby has already begun and a what is possibly the first bluejacking Web site has popped up at Bluejackq.com.
Bluetooth is a protocol that allows devices like mobile phones and laptops to send data to other devices, without wires, over distances of about 30 feet. Introduced as a replacement for cables in 1998, Bluetooth has been slow to gain mass-market penetration, with interoperability and interference problems blamed as the main culprits.
But now that the technology can be found in an estimated 100 million devices -- from cars and laptops to phones and MP3 players -- it is widely expected to become used by more mainstream consumers in the months ahead, according to the Bluetooth SIG, the group that promotes and ensures interoperability for the technology.
Bluetooth's growth may not convert bluejacking into anything more than a short-lived fad. "I have to say, I'm not overly enthused by it," commented Matthew Towers, IMS Research's senior Blue tooth analyst, referring to bluejacking as a market driver.
Towers said that perhaps there was limited room for Bluetooth messaging applications in the market, but said other uses of the technology are likely to drive the technology in more meaningful ways. Among the top drivers will be Bluetooth hands-free earpieces for mobile users looking to talk on their phone while in the car, Towers said.
Earlier this year Frost & Sullivan predicted that shipments of Bluetooth devices would double in 2003 to 70 million units, up from a meagre 10 million in 2001 and 35 million in 2002. Meanwhile the Bluetooth SIG said in October that one million Bluetooth-enabled units are shipping every week.
Creating successful email surveys: Denise Cox of email specialist Newsweaver argues that you can tap into your readers' likes or dislikes by surveying them.
