MultiMedia Intelligence: Consumer Internet - cash cow for IC makers?

Bernard Cole
iApplianceWeb
(03/12/08, 8:15 AM GMT)

Scottsdale, Az. – As if we needed another industry study to tell us that the key to most successful consumer electronics will be Internet connectivity, A new study by MultiMedia Intelligence indicates that IP-enabled consumer electronics devices will be a cash cow for electronics and semiconductor companies.

According to MultiMedia Intelligence, with more than 60 million IP-enabled consumer electronics devices shipped into the market in 2007, the semiconductors underlying that connectivity already represent more than $560 million in revenues annually.

The total includes the media-access control (MAC), physical interface (PHY) and related support chips. By 2012, the study indicates that as consumer electronics manufacturers and operators gradually add IP connectivity across a broad array of equipment, the market for the resulting network interface semiconductors growing to nearly $2.5 billion.

According to Mark Kirstein is president of MultiMedia Intelligence, the ubiquity and low cost of wired Ethernet will allow it to continue to be the most popular interface, as the de facto standard in nearly all Internet-enabled consumer electronics.

Even devices with other interfaces will likely still have at least one Ethernet connection as a default, as well as for testing or software installation during manufacturing.

According to MultiMedia Intelligence, while coax has a time-to-market advantage for operator-centric video distribution and multiroom DVR, powerline has a larger global appeal.

Wireless will be used for connectivity with mobile devices, enabling direct Internet access and data transmission. Wi-Fi also may support nonlinear or cached video.

According to MultiMedia Intelligence’s research, some companies are demonstrating rapid growth, reflecting the rising opportunities in Internet Protocol-enabled consumer devices.

Go to www.multimediaintelligence.com to learn more.

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