Even though today’s consumer electronics still rely primarily on physical media or on broadcasted delivery of most of the entertainment content that is produced, a recent study conducted by one of the leading research companies in the industry has identified a major shift in the marketplace. The shift is expected to be fueled by the significant wireless trends that are having an impact on a wide variety of businesses and industries that are making more and more use of the internet and of wireless networking solutions.
Researchers and industry observers predict that the improvements in wireless mobile networks and in wireless security will result in a much greater reliance on all kinds of wireless, network based content delivery of every kind. These wireless trends are expected to be one of the catalysts that will enable and popularize the efficient delivery and the redistribution of media content to homes that will be making the most of newer and better generations of consumer electronic hardware devices.
With such wireless trends in mind, ABI Research, which is one of the most respected research organizations in the industry, have forecasted that the overall number of devices that are Wi Fi network enabled will mushroom from the 40 million units that shipped in the year 2006, to an estimated 250 million Wi Fi devices that are expected to be delivered in the year 2011.
From the burgeoning interest in interactive internet gaming, to the rapid development of brand new online distribution channels for the top-level television and movie content, the need for increased connectivity in electronics for the mainstream consumers is growing incredibly fast in response to these wireless trends. Until now, the Wi Fi networking market for the consumer has been primarily made up of gateways, routers and adapters. But it is expected that as the market continues to evolve and embrace digital distribution of all types of media, this trend will continue to grow and will be further fueled by the embedding of Wi Fi wireless hardware in more and more consumer electronic devices.
The wireless trends in the marketplace today and in the near future will be led by the portable gaming consoles that are so popular. The two major forces in gaming, Nintendo and Sony, have equipped their latest and greatest generation of gaming devices with Wi Fi connection abilities, which has allowed for multi-player gaming and interactive gaming over an internet connection. Other evidences of these trends are seen in the technology added to the Zune device, making it Wi Fi enabled.
There are also more and more manufacturers of digital cameras and camcorders that are going to be making greater use of Wi Fi capabilities in their product lines, in an attempt to stay on top of these wireless trends. Also, many devices that have traditionally relied on wires and cables for connections, such as cable and satellite receivers and DVD players, will also be making better use of Wi Fi networking solutions to add additional functionality.
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