While mobile PCs and portable consumer electronics (CE) devices comprised the lion’s share of Wi-Fi chipset shipments in 2008, mobile handsets and stationary CE categories are driving the market growth, reports In-Stat market research firm.

“A new segment of Digital Media Adapters (DMAs), over-the-top devices, is also generating a lot of attention. Over-the-top devices access third-party home entertainment services that are delivered across a broadband network with no affiliation to a specific broadband operator. These devices include Apple TV, the Netflix player by Roku, and the Blockbuster/2Wire Streaming MediaPoint box,” said Victoria Fodale, In-Stat analyst.

In 2008, Wi-/Fi chipsets in mobile handsets grew by more than 51%. By 2010, In-Stat anticipates that this category will exceed 20% of the total Wi-Fi chipset market. The firm also believes that 802.11n will surpass 802.11g in the stationary CE embedded chipset segment in 2010.

According to In-Stat, total Wi-Fi chipset revenue will pass $4 billion by 2012.

Besides, the research company claims

• The Apple iPhone garnered a lot of attention in the handset category, but Nokia and HTC led in Wi-Fi-enabled handset volumes.
• The strong success of new netbook devices is boosting growth in the computing segment.
• New Bluetooth 3.0 specification uses 802.11g technology for the physical layer, which could open up a new market for Wi-Fi chipset suppliers.

Tags: Wi-Fi