Palm Releases Bluetooth Developer's KitPalm Releases Bluetooth Developer's Kit

Palm Inc. boosted the fortunes of perpetual 'next big thing' wireless technology Bluetooth on Monday, releasing a software development kit that will allow developers to write Bluetooth-compatible programs for the Palm operating system.

The Bluetooth Software Developer Kit can be downloaded now at palmos.com, says the company. Palm is also working with hardware manufacturers, including Red-M, Northstar Systems, and TDK Systems, to build compatible hardware development kits.

Bluetooth-enabled Palm-powered devices will be able to communicate with a wide range of other devices, including cell phones, computers, and LAN access points, says the company. Yankee Group analyst Sara Kim agrees that the technology is a natural for Palm. "The environment makes sense," she says.

Kim says the announcement is a big step for the growth of Bluetooth technology, and expects to see the number of Bluetooth-enabled products on the market to pick up in the coming year. "I don't necessarily think Palm is going to make or break Bluetooth," she says, "but they have so many developers that this is significant."