• E-mail this page
• |  Print this page
• | 
• | 
• | 

Hands-Free Laws A Goldmine For Bluetooth Makers

Last month, California and Washington enacted hands-free laws, requiring drivers to use devices such as Bluetooth headsets when driving. The result? Not so surprising. Sales of Bluetooth accessories skyrocketed, much to the glee of companies such as Parrot and Jawbone.

This cracks me up. Parrot is so excited about the fact that its sales have tripled in the last month, it issued a press release to say how excited it is. In the press release, David Wenning, senior VP of sales and marketing at Parrot, said, "The 28 million licensed drivers in California and Washington have had plenty of time to prepare for the law since the measure was adopted by the Legislature back in 2006 and I think that government agencies and manufacturers of hands-free products have done a really great job of creating awareness among consumers."

But wait, there's more.

"The July 1 deadline to go hands-free in California had a substantial effect on Parrot-branded products," says John Haynes, product manager for Al & Ed's Autosound. "We experienced over 180% unit sales growth in the 2nd Quarter of 2008 as compared to the 1st Quarter. Having trained sales staff in place was extremely important as consumers struggled to understand Bluetooth and what their options were beyond headsets."

Parrot has a huge marketing program in place to make sure people know about its products before they enter their local wireless store.

Jawbone is taking a different route. Aliph, the company behind the Jawbone headsets, has offered to give a $20 discount on a new Jawbone headset for anyone who's been issued a citation for breaking the hands-free law. Simply go to the Jawbone Web site, fill out the necessary paperwork, and you can get the discount via Jawbone's online store. Nifty.

It turns out that some crimes, do indeed, pay.

« Blurring The Lines Between Blogging And Content Management | Main | Virtualization, SOA, And Cloud Computing At 2008 LinuxWorld Expo »