Drilling down on Bluetooth. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. It is designed to provide wireless communication over short distances eliminated the need for connection wires on things like cell phone headsets and computer printers. But long delays in bringing Bluetooth to market have prompted some analysts and industry experts to say forget it. They argue 802.11 is winning the battle to become the wireless standard. But at 3com... .mobile and wireless marketing manager Kurt Olsen says there is room in the marketplace for both technologies... ..

"Bluetooth is cable replacement technology which could also be extended into light or simple networking applications. 802.11 is wireless LAN. It's getting rid of the Ethernet cable that ties between your PC and the wall."

Olsen says Bluetooth will be taking a big bite out of the market as products roll out over the coming months... .

"There really are a number of devices. Sony has announced Bluetooth in some of their consumer electronics products... a camcorder and so forth. It's really starting to pop up in a lot of devices already."

3com's PC card for notebook computers sells for about 120 dollars. But until more devices are available that use the technology... .there isn't much reason for consumers or businesses to buy into it. By the way... if you're wondering where the name comes from... .the answer is... from the 10th century Viking King Harald Bluetooth. Bloomberg Boot Camp... .I'm Fred Fishkin.