Skip to main content

How Wi-Fi Became the Disruptive Enabler

While mobile PCs and portable consumer electronic (CE) devices comprised the majority of Wi-Fi chipset shipments in 2008, mobile handsets and stationary new CE categories are driving the market growth, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.

In 2008, Wi-Fi chipsets in mobile handsets grew by more than 51 percent. By 2010, In-Stat anticipates that this category will exceed 20 percent of the total Wi-Fi semiconductor chipset market.

"A new segment of Digital Media Adapters (DMAs), over-the-top devices, is also generating a lot of attention," says Victoria Fodale, In-Stat analyst.

Independent over-the-top (OTT) devices access third-party home entertainment services that are delivered across a broadband network -- typically with no affiliation to a specific broadband service provider.

These emerging OTT video devices include Apple TV, the Netflix player by Roku, and the Blockbuster 2Wire Streaming MediaPoint box.

This is a growing segment to watch, as it disrupts the traditional pay-TV business model -- particularly in trailing markets such as North America, where subscription prices are still very high.

In-Stat's market study found the following:

- Total Wi-Fi chipset revenue will pass $4 billion by 2012.

- The Apple iPhone garnered a lot of attention in the handset category, but Nokia and HTC led in Wi-Fi-enabled handset volumes.

- The strong success of new netbook devices is boosting growth in the computing segment.

- 802.11n will surpass 802.11g in the stationary CE embedded chipset segment in 2010.

- New Bluetooth 3.0 specification uses 802.11g technology for the physical layer, which could open up a new market for Wi-Fi chipset suppliers.

Popular posts from this blog

AI-Driven Data Center Liquid Cooling Demand

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and hyperscale cloud computing is fundamentally reshaping data center infrastructure, and liquid cooling is emerging as an indispensable solution. As traditional air-cooled systems reach their physical limits, the IT industry is under pressure to adopt more efficient thermal management strategies to meet growing demands, while complying with stringent environmental regulations. Liquid Cooling Market Development The latest ABI Research analysis reveals momentum in liquid cooling adoption. Installations are forecast to quadruple between 2023 and 2030. The market will reach $3.7 billion in value by the decade's end, with a CAGR of 22 percent. The urgency behind these numbers becomes clear when examining energy metrics: liquid cooling systems demonstrate 40 percent greater energy efficiency when compared to conventional air-cooling architectures, while simultaneously enabling ~300-500 percent increases in computational density per rac...