In-Stat: Portable connectivity spurs Wi-Fi chipset growth

Market research group In-Stat reported in its recent publication that portable connectivity applications are the primary growth driver for the global Wi-Fi chipset market.

Shipments of Wi-Fi chipsets have been growing on account of the strong performance of the mobile PC, portable CE and dual-mode handset segments, the report said.

Although dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets represented only 3 percent of total shipments in 2006, this category is foreseen as the likely breakout market segment in 2007, and will reach 20 percent of the total chipset market in 2009, In-Stat said.

"Dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets are pushing hard into the market in 2007, with handset vendors Nokia and HTC really leveraging Wi-Fi as an alternative high-speed broadband connectivity option," says Gemma Tedesco, In-Stat analyst. "Wi-Fi for voice is expected to pick up this year, with T-Mobile's nationwide FMC rollout in the US."

HTC Corp. this week rolled out the HTC Touch smart phone, which, like the Apple iPhone, is Wi-Fi-equipped. T-Mobile's Wing handset, announced in late May, also carries Wi-Fi connectivity.