More people buying Wi-Fi-enabled devices
Consumers are increasingly buying TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, photo frames, and other gadgets with built-in Wi-Fi, reports In-Stat.
As more electronic devices become networked, consumers are flocking to gadgets with built-in wireless access, according to a report released Monday by In-Stat.
Worldwide shipments of TVs with Wi-Fi are expected to jump from less than 5 million last year to around 65 million in 2014. Wi-Fi-enabled Blu-ray players will also be up there, with more than 61 million units expected to ship in another four years.
Collectively, shipments of all stationary electronic devices with built-in Wi-Fi, such as TVs, Blu-ray players, gamee consoles, set-top boxes, and photo frames, are likely to surpass 200 million units in another four years.
Portable gadgets with Wi-Fi are also in hot demand and expected to get hotter. Among all Wi-Fi-enabled devices, mobile phones will enjoy the greatest volume over the next few years, with In-Stat projecting 515 million handsets shipping around the world by 2014.
Shipments of tablets with built-in Wi-Fi, such as the Apple iPad, are forecast to hit more than 46 million in another four years, while notebooks will surge ahead with 265 million units shipped. Portable game consoles, such as the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, could see shipments of more than 30 million in another four years.
Overall, shipments of all Wi-Fi-enabled appliances and devices could soar past 3.5 billion by 2014.
"Wi-Fi swept through the computing market, driven by the need to access and share broadband connectivity," Frank Dickson, In-Stat's Vice President of Research, said in a statement. "That same consumer desire is now resulting in Wi-Fi adoption across the entire range of connected consumer electronics, driving significant Wi-Fi volumes. The ubiquitous adoption of Wi-Fi in consumer electronics is Wi-Fi's manifest destiny."