| Toshiba, Taiyo Yuden and IBM Japan to Establish Bluetooth(TM) Qualification Organization 15 February, 2001 Toshiba Corporation Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd. IBM Japan, Ltd Tokyo--Toshiba Corporation, Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd. and IBM Japan, Ltd. today established a joint venture company to provide official qualification of use of the BluetoothTM logo. The logo is mandatory for all products that claim to meet the BluetoothTM standard and will assure consumers that products they purchase are fully BluetoothTM compliant. BluetoothTM technology enables users to connect mobile computers, digital cellular phones, handheld devices, network access points and other mobile devices via wireless links, unimpeded by line-of-sight restrictions. It eliminates the need for proprietary cables to connect devices, greatly increases the ease and breadth of wireless connectivity, and is expected to become a core feature of a wide range of mobile equipment. Market research firm Brain-Child recently estimated that there will be approximately 700 million consumer-use BluetoothTM-enabled devices worldwide by 2005. The burgeoning market for BluetoothTM-enabled devices has brought with it a growing need for a Japan-based BluetoothTM qualification organization. The new company is expected to make it much quicker and more convenient for Japan-based manufacturers to obtain qualification of BluetoothTM enabled products, and is also expected to contribute to shorter development terms and lower associated costs. A locally based qualifying organization is also expected to speed the diffusion of BluetoothTM products in the domestic market. The new joint venture organizes and oversees provision of support to manufacturers seeking BluetoothTM product qualification by Japan's first BluetoothTM Qualification Body (BQB), as authorized by the BluetoothTM Qualification Review Board (BQRB). The company is also awaiting approval to offer qualification testing at what will be Japan's sole BluetoothTM Qualification Test Facility (BQTF). In addition, since Toshiba and IBM are Promoter group of the BluetoothTM Special Interest Group (SIG), with Nokia Corporation, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Intel Corporation, Motorola Inc., 3Com Corporation, Lucent Technologies Inc. and Microsoft Corporation, the new joint venture is able to provide third parties with the latest information on Bluetooth technology. The new joint venture will target sales of more than ¥1 billion yen by fiscal year 2005.
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