The availability of Bluetooth-enabled handset offerings in North America has increased 65% to date over 2003, the research firm says. Consequently, the amount of vehicle models available with Bluetooth in North America has also increased over 40% from the prior year.

"Thanks to growing commitment to Bluetooth on the part of device manufacturers, automakers are becoming less apprehensive about supporting Bluetooth in their models," said Frank Viquez, director of automotive research. "Validating the technology was the first hurdle; now auto OEMs must look to differentiate their Bluetooth offerings and offer additional hardware functionality other than just car kits."

ABI finds that once this next hurdle is cleared, the full potential for Bluetooth in the vehicle could begin to be realized. When Bluetooth is leveraged alongside other wireless technologies such as 802.11, a host of new and extensive offerings could be enabled in the vehicle for telematics, entertainment, and mobile commerce.

According to the company's research, the global installed base of vehicles with factory-fitted Bluetooth hardware will reach nearly 22 million vehicles in 2008.