Wi-Fi Is Taking Over The World Of Entertainment Devices
It is becoming ever more unusual to find entertainment devices without wi-fi technology built in, and that's a trend that should only increase in the next several years.
In-Stat conducted an in-depth report on the wi-fi market and believes shipments of devices incorporating wireless tech will increase from 108.8 million this year to 177.3 million in 2013.
While wi-fi is more or less standard for laptops, other computers and
peripherals such as printers and scanners, it's only become a standard
in entertainment gadgets such as cameras and personal media players in
the past few years, and hand-held games and gaming consoles for a little longer.
As ubiquitous as wi-fi has become, however, a relatively small number of manufacturers are reaping the benefits.
In-Stat analyst Victoria Fodale cited gaming devices as a prime example. In 2009, Nintendo sold 79 percent of wi-fi-enabled gaming consoles and 87 percent of the handhelds.
Other findings, according to In-Stat:
In-Stat conducted an in-depth report on the wi-fi market and believes shipments of devices incorporating wireless tech will increase from 108.8 million this year to 177.3 million in 2013.
While wi-fi is more or less standard for laptops, other computers and
peripherals such as printers and scanners, it's only become a standard
in entertainment gadgets such as cameras and personal media players in
the past few years, and hand-held games and gaming consoles for a little longer.As ubiquitous as wi-fi has become, however, a relatively small number of manufacturers are reaping the benefits.
In-Stat analyst Victoria Fodale cited gaming devices as a prime example. In 2009, Nintendo sold 79 percent of wi-fi-enabled gaming consoles and 87 percent of the handhelds.
Other findings, according to In-Stat:
- Although the Apple iPod Touch clearly has the dominant Wi-Fi-enabled PMP market share, many vendors have offerings in the space including Archos, Chumby Industries, Com One, Commodore International, Cowon, Creative, Dell, Haier, iriver, Logitech, Microsoft, Mintpass, Nokia, Philips, Polaroid, Revo, SanDisk, Sangean, Sirius, Slacker, Sony, Toshiba, and Venzero.
- Nikon shipped 91% of Wi-Fi-enabled cameras in H1 2009.
- For the past several years all gaming consoles have had Wi-Fi embedded, which is a trend that will continue throughout the forecast period. The most significant variance in handhelds will be the type of Wi-Fi embedded. Beginning in 2010, these devices will begin shipping with 802.11n, while previously all devices were being shipped with 802.11b.
