Ericsson, the company that invented Bluetooth, said it would stop developing and licensing new Bluetooth hardware: Some say the move may be a death knell to a cable replacement technology that never lived up to its hype. Many observers say that Bluetooth was over-hyped. The technology was meant to be a simple cable replacement but the hype around it raised unrealistic expectations. When Bluetooth-enabled products hit the market, they were difficult to use. Plus, the price of Bluetooth chips didn't drop as fast as expected.
However, Bluetooth does fill a need in the market. If the standard doesn't move forward, it's not clear what other technologies might fill the void. Bluetooth is still supported by many other big name companies, but having its creator pull back isn't exactly a vote of confidence.