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Available FireWire is Unused by Consumers

How people connect their computer to digital media recording and playing devices is evolving. The proliferation of digital interfaces on PCs in the past 10 years has led to specialization, as well as an increasing number of choices for consumers, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.

USB has become a universal interface in the PC market, and 1394 or FireWire, DVI, and Bluetooth are all available in a large number of notebook and desktop PCs on the market today, the high-tech market research firm says.

In order to gauge the popularity of these various interfaces, In-Stat conducted a survey of 2,200 technology early adopters about the interfaces they have on both their work and home PCs, and to what they connect with these interfaces.

"Not surprisingly, USB is the most popular interface, and is connected to the greatest number of devices in both work and home environments," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst. "1394 (FireWire) proved to be the next most popular interface, in terms of its presence on both work and home PCs. However, in percentage terms, it was one of the least used interfaces in both environments."

The research covers the market for PC interfaces. It provides results and analysis of a recent In-Stat survey of tech-savvy U.S. PC users. It includes responses concerning both home and work PC usage. Responses regarding next-generation PC interface technologies, such as ultrawideband and wireless USB are included.

In-Stat's study found the following:

- Those not using their 1394 ports comprised 55 percent of work PC users, and 40 percent of home PC users.

- 34 percent of respondents are at least somewhat familiar with ultrawideband, while 44 percent are at least somewhat familiar with wireless USB.

- 56 percent of those with Bluetooth phones connect their PCs to a Bluetooth headset.

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