Wireless HD Video Technology: WHDI and WirelessHD Establish Market, While WiGig Establishes Specification
Wireless high-definition (HD) video technologies represent the next frontier in consumer electronic (CE) connectivity—replacing the nest of wires in the living room with high-bandwidth wireless technologies capable of transmitting HD video streams. The primary candidate technologies include: wireless home digital interface (WHDI), WirelessHD, and Wireless Gigabit (WiGig).
WHDI and WirelessHD are new, uncompressed HD video transmission technologies, each of which is primarily promoted by start-up chip companies. Although each has significant potential, both face significant market obstacles. WiGig has broad-based industry participation, but silicon is still a long way from the market.
This report tracks the annual penetration through 2014 of all three technologies into 14 different applications within the following product segments: CE, PCs, mobile phones, and industrial/medical applications. It also includes history and analysis of the three technologies and competing technologies, and annual chip average selling price forecasts of each of the three technologies.
The market for digital interface technologies continues growing, and includes USB, 1394, DVI, HDMI, and Bluetooth, among others. USB is the most common and most-used PC interface among both home and work PC users.
This 21-question survey tracks the ownership of seven interface technologies among In-Stat's Technology Adoption Panel in both work and home PCs: USB, 1394, DVI, HDMI, Bluetooth, DisplayPort, and eSATA. It also queried the 1,216 tech-savvy, predominantly male, online respondents about what they connected their PCs to using these connections, including PC peripherals, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. Demographic information about the respondents, including age, gender, income, and marital status, is included.
The research covers the worldwide market for WLAN chipsets by application.
It includes:
-Forecasts of WLAN chipset units by market application -Segmentation for computing equipment, including Internet tablets, netbooks, nettops, and notebooks -Segmentation for networking equipment, including access points, external adapters, gateways, and routers -Segmentation for stationary consumer electronics (CE), including audio receivers, Blu-ray players, digital media adapters, digital picture frames, digital televisions, DVD players, gaming consoles, networked-attached storage, personal video recorders, and set-top boxes -Segmentation for PC peripherals, including ink jet and laser printers -Segmentation for portable CE, including digital cameras, handheld games, IP network cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal media players (PMPs), and portable video camcorders -Segmentation for mobile handsets
Bluetooth: Low Energy and High Speed Join the Party
The global recession began to adversely impact the shipment of Bluetooth-enabled devices in the second half of 2008, with mobile phones and mobile PCs being particularly affected. Growth should resume in 2010 and continue through 2013.
Bluetooth continues to spin out a number of different specifications to fit different markets. The latest are: - Bluetooth low energy, targeted at sports and wellness, health, and consumer electronic (CE) applications, and - Bluetooth 3.0 + High Speed, a specification that was announced in April 2009, which combines classic Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to transmit large data files.
This report contains five-year forecasts for the penetration of Bluetooth into 18 separate applications within the PC, PC peripheral, communications, CE, automotive, and industrial/medical segments. Additionally, five-year forecasts are provided for Bluetooth silicon ASPs, as well as for shipments and revenues of varying Bluetooth silicon types. The report also contains responses on Bluetooth recognition from a large, domestic In-Stat online survey as well as profiles of major Bluetooth silicon manufacturers.
Global Wi-Fi Chipset Forecast and Analysis: 2007 to 2013
The research covers the worldwide market for Wi-Fi chipsets. It includes:
Forecasts of WLAN chipset units and revenue by market segment and by technology
Segmentation for mobile PCs, including notebook PCs, netbooks, ultra mobile PCs (UMPCs), and mobile Internet devices (MIDs)
Segmentation for portable CE, including handheld games, digital still/video cameras, IP network cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and personal media players (PMPs)
Segmentation for mobile handsets
Segmentation for networking equipment, including routers, gateways, and access points (APs)
Segmentation for stationary CE, including gaming consoles, Blu-ray players/recorders, digital televisions (DTVs), media adapter/player/receivers, networked attached storage, personal video recorders (PVRs), printers and multi-function peripherals (MFPs), personal video recorders (PVRs), and set-top boxes (STBs)
Segmentation by technology, including 802.11g, 802.11a/g, Draft n/802.11n
Analysis of market segments, including drivers and barriers.
Wireless HD Video Technologies 2009: WHDI, WirelessHD, 802.11n, and UWB All Test the Waters
Wireless high definition (HD) technologies are the next frontier in consumer electronic (CE) connectivity—replacing the nest of wires in the living room with high-bandwidth wireless technologies capable of transmitting HD video streams. The primary candidate technologies include: Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI), WirelessHD, 802.11n, and ultrawideband (UWB). WHDI and WirelessHD are new, uncompressed HD video transmission technologies, each of which is primarily promoted by start-up chip companies. Though each has potential, both face significant market obstacles. 802.11n has the advantage of being a Wi-Fi technology, with a large installed base, but has limited bandwidth, necessitating the use of expensive codec technologies to transmit HD. UWB also uses codecs, and is facing difficulties in market adoption, with a number of chip companies shutting their doors over the past year.
This report tracks the annual penetration through 2013 of all four technologies into 17 different applications within the following product segments: CE, PCs, PC peripherals, mobile phones, and industrial/medical applications. It also includes history and analysis of each technology, annual chip average selling price forecasts of each technology, and profiles of major chip players in the market.
Road Warrior Connectivity: Device and Interface Use by US Business Travelers
US road warriors are carrying several devices with them while traveling, and using several different interfaces to connect those devices. Defined as business travelers who are on the road five or more days in a typical month, the vast majority of road warriors travel with a notebook PC. Wi-Fi was by far the most used interface in their notebooks, with USB and Ethernet following.
Many road warriors also travel with mobile and smartphones, with the total number of positive responses on those two devices outnumbering the total number of respondents, indicating that some travel with multiple phones. In order of popularity, Bluetooth, USB, and Wi-Fi were the most frequently used interfaces on phones while traveling.
This In-Stat Technology Adoption Panel (TAP) survey included 522 respondents. In addition to the queries above, respondents also answered questions on PDAs, whether they or their companies purchased the devices they traveled with, and the types of devices they connected to while on the road.
UWB 2008: Short-Term Problems and Long-Term Potential
The market for ultrawideband (UWB) devices was bumpy in 2008, with multiple chip companies leaving the market in the second half of the year. However, regulatory hurdles have been cleared to some extent, allowing for the release of worldwide chip SKUs by some chip vendors. There are currently five mobile PC vendors shipping UWB-enabled products. Hub and dongle solutions remain a transition to more embedded devices on the market.
The primary question for UWB now is: Will other product segments follow where PCs lead? UWB is a very flexible technology in that it supports multiple standards, including WUSB, Bluetooth 3.0, and IP over UWB. This should enable the technology to gain design wins in a wide range of product segments, including PC peripherals, consumer electronics (CE), and mobile phones.
This report contains analysis and annual shipment forecasts through 2012 for the penetration of UWB into 22 separate applications within the following product segments: PC, PC peripheral, CE, communications, and industrial/medical. The annual penetration forecast for UWB into each application is broken down by WiMedia UWB and proprietary UWB. Profiles of leading UWB chip vendors and IP suppliers are included.
Wireless sensor networks are making some headway in smart energy, industrial control, and other applications through IEEE802.15.4 technologies. While ZigBee, through its impressive marketing efforts in the US, owned the largest mind share in the wireless sensor networking space for the past several years, a whole host of proprietary software stacks are being used in applications where ZigBee is more than what is required by the specific applications. This is resulting in a large number of technologies being used for countless applications, and ZigBee usage more focused on a single, yet fast growing application—smart energy.
In addition to proprietary standards, other consortia are building industry standards on 802.15.4 for other applications, including industrial, building, and home automation. These technologies will help drive volume and lower chip costs for 802.15.4 components.
Wi-Fi in Consumer Electronics: The Swiss Army Knife Technology
Wi-Fi’s popularity in mobile PCs and home networks has not guaranteed its success in consumer electronics (CE). Many issues plagued early products with Wi-Fi including lack of consumer awareness, ease-of-use, battery life, throughput and range limitations, and high cost. Most of these concerns have now been addressed, and the cost of embedding Wi-Fi into devices has decreased significantly. Furthermore, the finalization of IEEE 802.11n in late 2009 will remedy the technical issues associated with 802.11b/g, which limited the integration of Wi-Fi into devices with more complex applications like video.
Because of its large installed base in mobile PCs and home networks, Wi-Fi deserves strong consideration as a solution to bring content into the living room, even as a companion technology. Its broad flexibility and utility, as well as its large and mature ecosystem, make Wi-Fi a valued, “Swiss army knife” technology for the CE market.
This report covers the global market for CE devices with Wi-Fi for 20 different applications within 7 device categories: home aggregators, external clients, mobile PCs, stationary CE, PC peripherals, portable CE, and handsets. The report provides annual shipment forecasts for the total available market, as well as the penetration of Wi-Fi, for each device through 2012. It also includes a brief discussion of 802.11n, WPAN, and competing wireless technologies.
Bluetooth 2008: New Standards Signify an Increasingly Complex Market
Bluetooth saw continued success in 2007, with more than 800 million Bluetooth-enabled devices shipping in the PC, PC peripheral, consumer electronics (CE), communications, automotive, and industrial/medical device segments. Over one billion devices are expected to ship in 2008, and shipments are forecast to grow at a CAGR of 18.1% over the 2007–2012 forecast period.
New Bluetooth specifications are on the horizon. The Low-Energy specification, expected to be adopted this year, will provide newfound opportunities for Bluetooth silicon in medical and industrial devices. Additionally, a High-Speed specification, to be based on either UWB or Wi-Fi, is expected to make inroads in data- and media-intensive applications, such as streaming video or music to or from a mobile phone.
This report contains five-year forecasts for the penetration of Bluetooth into products within the PC, PC peripheral, communications, CE, automotive, and industrial/medical segments. Additionally, five-year forecasts are provided for Bluetooth silicon ASPs, as well as for shipments and revenues of varying Bluetooth silicon types. In addition, the report also contains responses on Bluetooth and wireless headsets from three separate In-Stat surveys: domestic phone and web surveys, and an international web survey of Japanese, Korean, German, French and British consumers. Also included are profiles of major Bluetooth silicon manufacturers.
Wireless USB (WUSB), based on the WiMedia version of ultrawideband (UWB), is designed to take the universal connection into the wireless realm. Targeted at PCs, PC peripherals, consumer electronics (CE), and mobile phones, the first devices with the technology shipped in 2007, including notebook PCs and hub and dongle solutions.
WUSB is currently hampered by the high price of the underlying UWB silicon. This is expected to limit its appeal until prices fall substantially from their current levels. Ultimately, WUSB should succeed because the underlying UWB technology allows the transmission of large amounts of data in a power efficient manner, when compared with competing technologies like Wi-Fi.
This report tracks the global market for WUSB in 22 different applications within four product segments: PCs, PC peripherals, consumer electronics, and communications. Annual penetration of WUSB in each of these markets is tracked annually through 2012. An annual WUSB chip solution ASP forecast through 2012 is also provided. Brief profiles of WUSB semiconductor and IP vendors are also included.
US Interface Survey: Tracking Interface Usage on Work and Home PCs
The market for digital interface technologies has grown over the last ten years, and now encompasses USB, 1394, DVI, and Bluetooth, among others. USB predominates in PCs, PC peripherals, and, increasingly, in consumer electronics (CE). However, the other technologies have also established their niches in areas ranging from mobile devices to digital video to LCD monitors.
This survey tracks the ownership of four interface technologies among In-Stat's Technology Adoption Panel in both work and home PCs: USB, 1394, DVI, and Bluetooth. It also queried the 2,200 respondents about what they connected their PCs to using these technologies, including PC peripherals, CE, and mobile devices. In addition, the survey included questions about respondents' interest in next-generation ultrawideband-based technologies, such as wireless USB and high-speed Bluetooth, and their willingness to pay for the inclusion of these technologies in PCs and mobile phones. Demographic information about the respondents, including age, gender, income, and marital status, is included.
