Bluetooth penetration into mobile handsets is still on the rise. That’s the word from a new report by research firm In-Stat. 2006 was a good year and 2007 will bring more success for the technology named after Danish King Harald Blåtand. But something is rotten, and not just in Denmark. The growth for Bluetooth products is also beginning to slow.

“The Bluetooth silicon market is beginning to see some consolidation, as larger silicon vendors add new capabilities, such as Wi-Fi and GPS, to their chip portfolios, either by internal development or acquisition,” says Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst. “The goal is to create combined radio silicon that is being demanded by mobile phone vendors.”

Some of the studies findings suggest:

Growth of Bluetooth devices will increase by 34% in 2007, slowing from the recent past.

Wireless chip companies are seeking to offer integrated radio chips with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and FM.

New low power and high data rate Bluetooth standards will emerge over the next two years.

According to recently conducted In-Stat surveys, France, Germany and the UK have the highest percentages of those extremely or very familiar with Bluetooth. Korea and Japan had the lowest percentages, while the US was in the middle.

So maybe things aren’t so bad in France, Germany… We still don’t know about Denmark.

In-Stat