Products That Get Announced And Disappear: The Bluetooth Suitcase

from the whatever-happened-to... dept

Tue, Jul 24th 2007 8:42pm — Mike Masnick

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.

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Filed Under: bluetooth, luggage
Companies: samsonite

15 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jul 2007 @ 9:10pm

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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- Mike (profile), 24 Jul 2007 @ 9:31pm
  
  Re:
  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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  - christopher, 25 Jul 2007 @ 5:12am
    
    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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    - The Swiss Cheese Monster, 25 Jul 2007 @ 6:29am
      
      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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- The Swiss Cheese Monster, 24 Jul 2007 @ 11:14pm
  
  Re:
  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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Overcast, 24 Jul 2007 @ 10:12pm

LOL, wtf?

Maybe next they will have bluetooth condoms.
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- The Swiss Cheese Monster, 24 Jul 2007 @ 11:26pm
  
  Re:
  Now there is a product I could really get into.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jul 2007 @ 10:32pm

may be to ease in finding you bag at airports ?
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- The Swiss Cheese Monster, 24 Jul 2007 @ 11:14pm
  
  Re:
  RFID chip would be better suited for this task.
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  - TheDock22, 25 Jul 2007 @ 6:45am
    
    Re: Re:
    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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    - Unknowledgeable Geek, 25 Jul 2007 @ 7:00am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      There already exists chips that you can put in animals.
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      - TheDock22, 25 Jul 2007 @ 7:17am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        I meant physically mark your stuff (suitcases, phones, keys) like the animals do...with DNA ;)
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Haggisdog, 25 Jul 2007 @ 6:03am

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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Anonymous Coward, 25 Jul 2007 @ 6:53am

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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Sanguine Dream, 25 Jul 2007 @ 7:45am

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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