Digital Lifescapes

Wireless communication solutions in the enterprise continue to gain momentum from new technologies and associated software applications. Across all industries and geographies, the demand has increased substantially over the last couple of years. Meanwhile, the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) market is growing in complexity with the new Wi-Fi standards, 6 GHz spectrum availability, Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity integration, disruptive business models, and more value-added services. Enterprise WLAN Market Development Furthermore, the evolution of cellular and WLAN technologies is pushing CIOs and CTOs to consider deploying heterogeneous Wi-Fi + 5G networks that can optimize performance, cost, reliability, and enable new use cases fundamental to digital transformation. These market dynamics and innovative solutions can drive enterprise WLAN infrastructure revenues to reach $14.5 billion by 2028, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. ABI analysts will n...

Remote controls for a variety of consumer electronics in the home will start to get smarter as they're being redesigned for much greater utility. The new features and capabilities will help to redefine the inherent usability and value that these devices provide. In 2013 10 percent of the remote controls shipped with major home consumer equipment will be RF-enabled. This is just the beginning of a new trend -- the quest for the ultimate remote control. Over the next five years there will be a major surge in RF technology adoption for remote controls as vendors look to differentiate their products -- driving growth in smart home services, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. While at the same time RF solutions continue to fall in price, implementations become more simplified and lower powers are achieved. "RF technology has been considered for use in remote controls for many years but its adoption has been limited by a lack of perceived need among device...

The traditional infra-red remote control device used to command consumer electronics (CE) equipment -- including TVs and Pay-TV set top boxes -- is somewhat limited. Even universal remotes that control multiple devices are quite one-dimensional and poorly designed, from a usability point of view. If some major CE manufacturers have their way, the next generation of remotes will be based on Radio Frequency (RF) technology. The growth curve for these products is just beginning, but is forecast to show a 55 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2014. According to senior analyst Jason Blackwell of ABI Research, the first such products are already appearing in Japan. "RF remote controls are starting to ship with a few high-end Japanese TVs such as Sony's premium Bravia models. Companies like Sony hope to start with early-adopters, then ramp up volumes, drive down costs, and move these remotes into more mainstream products." IR remotes perform the basic task, so wh...