According to a new study of the Bluetooth market by Micrologic Research, the outlook for Bluetooth remains promising, although not quite as rosy as it appeared a year ago.

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology that enables devices such as cellular telephones, handheld computers, wireless headsets, and entertainment systems to communicate with each other without the need for cables.

Micrologic Research says that despite the generally promising outlook for Bluetooth, the lackluster recovery in the worldwide economy will have a negative effect on all communications markets, and Bluetooth will be no exception. Micrologic Research now forecasts that 35.3 million Bluetooth chipsets will ship this year, down from the 45.4 million figure that the company had earlier predicted.

Micrologic Research said it now believes that the 1-billion-chipset mark will not be exceeded until 2006, when it is forecasting sales of 1.3 billion Bluetooth chipsets. Previously, the company had forecast that the 1-billion mark would be reached in 2005.

The forecasts are contained in a 152-page study titled "Bluetooth2002," which includes forecasts for 15 specific segments of the Bluetooth market, short write-ups on the activities of 85 companies in the Bluetooth market, and 79 full-color figures including graphs, photographs, and drawings of Bluetooth products.

"Bluetooth2002" includes a discussion of Bluetooth technology written in non-engineering terms and makes an ideal tutorial for anyone who needs to "get up to speed" on the Bluetooth market as well as an indispensable reference for the Bluetooth pro.

An executive summary of "Bluetooth2002" that includes graphs, a Table of Contents, and a List of Figures can be viewed at the Micrologic Research website. "Bluetooth2002" costs $1,995 for the first copy and $500 for additional copies in either book or CD-ROM format.