Consumer Electronic WLAN-Enabled Unit Shipments to Surpass 419 Million by 2015

Many consumer electronic products (CE) include WLAN connectivity using the available standards 802.11b/g, 802.11n, and the soon-to-be available 802.11ac. Most of these CE products can be categorized as portable. More recently, products typically cast as stationary, such as TVs, DVD/Blu-ray players, and digital photo frames, now offer more products that wirelessly connect to the Internet or a home network, providing access to digital content. Even though the WLAN attach rates of these stationary devices remain relatively low in comparison to their portable counterparts, the size of the combined WLAN-enabled CE markets will surpass 419 million units shipped by 2015, according to new In-Stat research, Wireless LAN Market Estimates and Forecast by Device and by Technology 2010-2015, 2Q11 Update (#IN1105006WS).

“WLAN connectivity in portable CE devices is not a novel idea and, in fact, an absolute requirement in most cases,” says Frank Dickson, Vice President of Research. “What is new is the growth in stationary CE WLAN-enabled devices. The global embedded base of web-enabled and smart CE devices is expected to grow substantially over the next five years, providing the connectivity necessary to support IP-based video content. Smart CE devices actually go one step further, offering online applications.”

Some of the research findings include:

• E-readers will reach a 90% WLAN attach rate by 2015.
• In 2014, handheld game consoles will have an 802.11n attach rate of 32%.
• Over 54 million WLAN-enabled digital TVs will ship in 2013.
• The 802.11ac standard will reach an attach rate in notebooks of 57% in 2015.

Recent In-Stat research, Wireless LAN Market Estimates and Forecast by Device and by Technology 2010-2015, 2Q11 Update (#IN1105006WS), covers the worldwide market for WLAN by device and by technology. The research includes:

• Forecasts of WLAN chipset units by market application segment and by 802.11b/g, 802.11n, and 802.11ac.
• Segmentation for computing equipment, including tablets, netbooks (mini-notes), notebooks, and desktops.
• Segmentation for networking equipment, including stand-alone access points, network adapters, residential gateways, and routers.
• Segmentation for stationary consumer electronics (CE), including digital photo frames, digital televisions, DVD/Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, network-attached storage devices, personal video recorders, and set top boxes/streaming media players
• Segmentation for PC peripherals, including printers and MFPs
• Segmentation for portable CE, including digital camcorders, digital radio receivers, digital still cameras, e-readers, edutainment toys, handheld game consoles, MP3 players, PMPs, and PNDs
• Segmentation for basic/feature phones, smartphones, mobile hotspots, and automotive applications
• Segmentation for medical/industrial applications

For a free sample of the report and more information, please contact Elaine Potter:epotter@in-stat.com or (480) 483-4441.