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Products That Get Announced And Disappear: The Bluetooth Suitcase
from the whatever-happened-to... dept
I've been reading a lot lately about the process of bringing new products to market, and what's almost as interesting is the products that never actually make it -- though there's a lot less information about those. Jeremy Wagstaff, however, is trying to find out whatever happened to Samsonite's missing bluetooth-enabled suitcase. Apparently, the product was announced back in 2002 with promises to be on the market later that year. Wagstaff found the idea compelling, while others (and I fall into this camp) found the idea baffling. What value is there in adding Bluetooth to a suitcase that can't be accomplished better and cheaper through other means? And, apparently, that's what Samsonite itself discovered soon after announcing (but not launching) the product. In various tests, it found that Bluetooth didn't work very well, not enough people had Bluetooth phones and there simply wasn't much value in Bluetooth-enabled luggage, so it went into the dustbin of products announced, but never launched.
Reader Comments
(Flattened / Threaded)
Call me thick but what possible use would there be for bluetooth in a suitcase?
I'm assuming this is some sort of joke!
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Call me thick but what possible use would there be for bluetooth in a suitcase?
I know. I can't conceive of a single use that makes any sense. Yet, it does not appear to have been a joke.
The ones mentioned by Samsonite originally are ridiculous:
- storing info with the luggage?
Huh? That's storage, not Bluetooth.
- alerting a traveler if luggage was moved.
Huh? With Bluetooth? Given Bluetooth's range (realistically just a few feet), you're going to see your luggage being moved before it alerts your phone.
This was an ill-conceived idea from the beginning.
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Bluetooth effective range?
Try 300 feet outdoors, and 100 indoors. I effectively keep linked to my desktop even behind a closed-door conf room 50 feet away. I call shenanigans on your anecdote.
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Re: Bluetooth effective range?
The effective range of Bluetooth is only around 32' (http://www.mobileinfo.com/Bluetooth/FAQ.htm#t6)
I can testify that I have never seen a bluetooth device work that well at 30'.
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This is the kind of thing you might sell to somebody who shops at sharper image and buys ion breeze equipment.
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LOL, wtf?
Maybe next they will have bluetooth condoms.
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Now there is a product I could really get into.
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may be to ease in finding you bag at airports ?
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RFID chip would be better suited for this task.
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I agree. The range on Bluetooth is really the disadvantage to using it as a tracking system. Using an RFID chip would have much better range.
Or better yet, everyone on the planet could have a tracking chip. Then you could "mark" your stuff like the animals, but be able to track is via satellite uplink. A little futuristic, but cheap and functional. =)
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There already exists chips that you can put in animals.
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I meant physically mark your stuff (suitcases, phones, keys) like the animals do...with DNA ;)
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Confusing Bluetooth with WiFi
There's no way you're getting bluetooth at 300 feet, you're obviously thinking of your WiFi connection.
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Not well, but I've had bluetooth work to 100'+ ind
I use a Plantronics Voyager 510 headset on my office phone and cell phone. I have been alerted of incomming calls from my desk when I was on the other side of our office. I was able to answer. I was able to communicate (I wouldn't say converse) with the other party enough to find out they were in the office next door to the one I was visiting and drop in.
This product is advertised with a 30' range. It only works well within that range, but for alerts it goes far beyond.
Keep in mind most bluetooth devices are class 2. Class 1 is designed for a 300' range, but the battery drain is too high for most uses.
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Throughout history and world...
there are many devices that are just bad ideas. This was not the first and it damn sure won't be the last.
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