ABIResearch

Standalone Versus Integrated Dilemma Is Major Theme of $37 Billion Mobile Handset Semiconductor Market

2012-05-25T06:10:00-0400

Revenues for core semiconductor components used in mobile handsets, including platform ICs and wireless connectivity ICs, are expected to reach almost $37 billion per annum in 2012. The market has seen strong growth from 2009 as the smartphone market has increased significantly, driving growth for many components, including applications processors and Wi-Fi ICs. “The smartphone has offered many opportunities to semiconductor vendors as it has largely been dominated by standalone IC solutions,” comments practice director Peter Cooney. “However, the market is transitioning to one of more integrated solutions, particularly in the high growth, low- and mid-end tiers of the market. This will mean less available sockets and therefore much stron ...

The M2M Software Platform Market Will Grow to $3.85 Billion by 2017 as Merchant-Market Platforms Increasingly Displace Self-Built Solutions

2012-05-24T10:00:00-0400

The cellular M2M market will rise from about 110 million cumulative connections globally in 2011 to roughly 453 million cumulative connections by 2017. Nevertheless, a key challenge for the industry remains the complexity of developing, deploying, and managing M2M applications over the cellular network. “This is a challenge both for mobile network operators (MNOs) that are trying to offer profitable services tailored to the M2M market, as well as for application developers and service providers that are trying to reduce costs, speed time to market, and simplify robust application deployments,” says practice director Sam Lucero.Two key M2M software platform markets have emerged to address these challenges: connected device platforms (CDPs) ...

Phablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Note, Will Surpass 208 Million Device Shipments Annually in 2015

2012-05-23T08:50:00-0400

More than 208 million phablets, a hybrid device that is larger than a smartphone but smaller than a tablet, like the Samsung Galaxy Note, will be shipped globally in 2015.Despite the slow start for phablet smartphones in 2011, the market is at the dawn of the phablet era. HTC, LG, and Huawei will each introduce phablet smartphones in 2012, joining the ranks of Samsung’s Galaxy Note and Nexus. Additionally, another phablet smartphone was released earlier this month, the Samsung Galaxy S3. “One of the chief drivers for phablets is the amount of time people use their smartphones for web browsing, reading articles and newspapers on the go, or simply navigating their journeys,” says senior analyst Joshua Flood. “The larger screen sizes make a ...

Wi-Fi Continues to Dominate One Billion Unit Home Networking Equipment and Networked-Enabled Media Device Market

2012-05-23T08:00:00-0400

As the number of connected media devices grows, home networking will continue to gain importance in consumers’ expanding digital lifestyle. By 2014, shipments of core home networking equipment (home gateways/routers, adapters, bridges, NICs, embedded LAN, NAS) and networked-enabled media devices (CE devices with network connectivity, excluding computers and mobile devices) will exceed one billion units Senior analyst Michael Inouye comments, “On the CE side, TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes are expected to lead in shipments. As pay-TV operators continue to push new services and features, such as multiscreen initiatives and whole home DVRs, connectivity will increasingly come to the forefront of the digital living room.” While W ...

OEM and Aftermarket Connected Car Solutions to Exceed 350 Million by 2017

2012-05-22T07:30:00-0400

OEM and aftermarket connected car systems in use are expected to grow from 66 million in 2012 to 356 million in 2017. While OEM solutions are gaining momentum rapidly across the globe in the US, Europe, Japan, and China, aftermarket solutions will continue to be used for applications such as stolen vehicle tracking, insurance telematics, infotainment, and road user charging.Dominique Bonte, vice president and group director, telematics and M2M, comments, “Arguably the most important barrier for the adoption of connected car technology is limited user awareness about the existence and/or the features and benefits of connected car solutions, closely followed by high costs, especially with recurring pricing models. Privacy issues and driver ...

Huawei Leads 19 Million Indian Set-Top Box Market with 24% Share

2012-05-21T06:45:00-0400

The Indian set-top box (STB) market has been increasing at a steady pace over the past few years. A strong surge of consumers moved to satellite platforms during 2011, representing 80% of the Indian market. Despite the large cable TV subscriber base in India, satellite TV growth will slow somewhat from the 10 million consumers that added services last year.“The cable TV digitization, mandated by the government, will spur set-top box shipment increases in India for the next several years,” says Sam Rosen, principal analyst. 19.3 million set-top boxes will be shipped in India during 2012.The government’s cable TV digitization policy now specifies that cable TV digitization will occur in four phases by December 2014. Therefore, cable STB de ...

Global LTE Subscriptions to Exceed 40 Million This Year

2012-05-18T05:55:00-0400

Global LTE subscriptions are expected to exceed 40 million by the end of 2012, representing a fourfold increase over the nine million global LTE subscriptions in 2011. The wide range of expected LTE smartphone launches in 2012 from major OEMs such as Nokia, Samsung, and Apple, as well as the surge in data consumption, are the main causes behind the rise in LTE subscriptions.Currently, the North American region accounts for 60% of total LTE subscriptions, followed by the Asia-Pacific region at 37%. However, Asia-Pacific LTE subscriptions are expected to overtake North America by 2014, primarily driven by adoption in China, India, Japan, and South Korea. “South Korea and Japan are witnessing amazing LTE subscription growth due to the availa ...

Apple (51%) and Samsung (24%) Dominate India’s Tablet Market, Despite Low-Cost Options

2012-05-17T07:55:00-0400

Despite a series of low-cost media tablet launches in the second half of 2011, Apple’s iPad has managed to maintain its premier position in the Indian market with 51% market share in 2011. Samsung’s achievement at extending its success in the handset segment to the tablet segment, with its Galaxy Tab, allowed Samsung to occupy the second spot with 24% market share. Indian consumers also showed a strong penchant for RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook after prices were slashed significantly, making it the third largest player with a 10.4% market share. The presence of ultra-low cost media tablets with non-optimal specifications might ruin the user experience and, in turn, prove to be a dampener for media tablet growth. “Although there is lot of buzz ...

Alternative Location Market to Reach $8 Billion, Indoor to Follow

2012-05-17T05:45:00-0400

Precision indoor location is stealing the headlines, yet wide-area alternative/hybrid location is where the money is today.GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular location technologies will each be installed on over one billion devices in 2017, with direct revenues forecast to break the $8 billion mark. Senior analyst Patrick Connolly says, “Increasingly, tablet, camera, and portable gaming vendors are using location to differentiate and support additional services and revenue models. Others, like the femtocell market, are driven by mandates. To illustrate the potential, the non-cellular handset market is set to reach over one billion devices by 2017.” “Ultimately the volumes are in cellular handsets where hybrids of GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ME ...

90 Million Homes Worldwide Will Employ Home Automation Systems by 2017

2012-05-16T09:35:00-0400

New subscription-based home automation offerings are rapidly transforming the way consumers will monitor, secure, and control their homes. Long the preserve of more expensive, custom-installed technology, home automation is moving into the mainstream, with companies such as ADT, Comcast, Verizon, Lowe’s, and many others all adding home automation to their customer services. A number of factors are driving the new entrants into the market. Connectivity is one key factor. Not only are there currently high home broadband penetration rates, as well as the potential for embedded cellular connections to connect systems, but also smartphone applications allow consumers to control and check their homes from wherever they are. As connectivity op ...

Factory Installed Automotive Navigation Solutions to Surpass PND Shipments by 2015

2012-05-16T07:00:00-0400

PND manufacturers are making the right moves as the in-car navigation market is forecast to rapidly diverge into smartphone-based applications and dedicated in-car solutions. The total in-car navigation market is set to grow with a CAGR of 25.9% over the next five years, representing a strong market with plenty of opportunity.Much of this growth is in the perpetually commoditizing smartphone application market, reaching over 395 million downloads by 2016. However, there will continue to be a place for high-quality navigation services and features, particularly as car OEMS begin to support connected services, enabling applications to leverage information about the car and the driver. The other major trend is toward factory-installed naviga ...

Asian Vendors Watchdata, Eastcompeace, KEB Technology, Datang, and Wuhan Tianyu Continue to Apply Pressure on the “Big Four” Smart Card Vendors

2012-05-15T07:05:00-0400

The market for smart cards and secure ICs achieved double digit YoY growth for shipments in 2011, demonstrating increases of 16% and 15%, respectively. Volumes continued ramping up, driven by further mobile penetration, the ongoing development in the SIM card sector, and the number of countries migrating to EMV. The top three applications (government ID, payment cards, and SIM) accounted for 88% of the total seven billion smart cards shipped in 2011. Further adoption in contactless cards added increased value to the market, as will the greater demand for multi-application cards. However, manufacturers remain aware of ongoing price pressures, apparent across all vertical sectors in the smart card market. For smart card manufacturers this a ...

3% of Users Account for One-Fifth of All Money Spent on Mobile Apps

2012-05-14T09:00:00-0400

According to a US consumer survey conducted by ABI Research, about two-thirds of app users have spent money on an application on at least one occasion. Among these paying users, the mean spend was $14 per month. Behind the seemingly high average amount there are, however, some striking findings. Senior analyst Aapo Markkanen explains, “The median amount among the consumers who spend money on apps is much lower than the average, just $7.50 per month. This reflects the disproportionate role of big spenders as a revenue source. The highest-spending 3% of all app users account for nearly 20% of the total spend, while over 70% spends either nothing or very little.”The numbers also reflect certain trends in different app categories. Thus far, t ...

850 Million IEEE 802.15.4 Chipsets to Ship in 2016, Despite Strong Competition from Bluetooth

2012-05-12T11:00:00-0400

The IEEE 802.15.4 IC market, often referred to as wireless sensor networks (WSN), will expand to over 850 million units per annum by 2016, experiencing a compound annual growth rate of over 60% from 2010 to 2016. While growth is led by advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) equipment, significant uptake is expected in home automation, home entertainment, medical, and others.ZigBee is the most widely-used IEEE 802.15.4 technology, accounting for 40% of total shipments in 2012 and growing to over 50% by 2015. Current deployments and growth are being driven by the ZigBee Alliance, the industry body now comprising over 400 members including IC suppliers such as Freescale, Intel, Marvell, NXP, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments.“Many IC ...

Network Managed Services Will Grow from $14 Billion in 2012 to $25 Billion in 2017

2012-05-11T11:00:00-0400

Five years ago, network operators were still hesitant to outsource operations and entrust their business to someone else, so the amount that they spent on network managed services totaled just US$5 billion in 2007. Today, almost every network operator depends on managed services for at least part of their operations and network managed services totaled US$12 billion in 2011.“Outsourcing is a win-win situation,” says Jim Eller, principal analyst, wireless infrastructure. “Network operators can reduce OPEX, improve service quality, and increase revenues. And network equipment vendors earn higher margins on services than on hardware and software, which is increasingly commoditized.”The leading vendors in network managed services are the m ...

By 2020, 80% of New Vehicles Will Feature Dynamic Clusters

2012-05-10T07:00:00-0400

The dynamic cluster is one of the key technologies that will prosper as OEMs take on the challenge of updating the HMI (human-machine interface) look and feel for the next generation of vehicles. “With advanced safety and navigation systems becoming more popular and the clear demand to integrate smartphones, HMI will be one of the primary areas that manufacturers will be looking to in order to differentiate their products in the coming years,” says principal analyst, automotive technology, David Alexander. “Dynamic clusters will feature in all market segments. Our analysis indicates that the dynamic cluster installation rate in new vehicles is expected to grow from 2.5% in 2012 to 80% in 2020.”General Motors has already previewed its new ...

45% of Smartphone Users with a Retailer-Branded App Visit the Retailer’s Store More Often, According to ABI Research’s Technology Barometer

2012-05-08T06:30:00-0400

Are smartphone apps the magic bullet of marketing for retailers? According to a December 2011 ABI Research survey of U.S. consumers, it may be so. Survey respondents who said they had downloaded a retailer-branded app said the app caused them to visit the store more (45.8%), buy more of the store/brand’s products and services (40.4%), tell a friend about their store shopping experience (35.8%), and encourage friends to visit the store (30.8%).“These are overwhelmingly positive numbers,” says senior analyst Mark Beccue. “They are so compelling that if retailers do not have a smartphone app strategy in place right now they are in danger of being left behind by their competitors.”In a word of caution, only 25% of the respondents had downlo ...

NXP Maintains Its Strong Position, with 74% Market Share of Contactless Ticket Market

2012-05-07T06:25:00-0400

NXP has claimed the top spot in the contactless ticketing market in ABI Research’s new market analysis. Shipments of the MIFARE range (Classic, Plus, Ultralight, and DESFire) remain strong despite some security concerns around the Classic product. Overall, MIFARE has withstood scrutiny and demonstrates that the highest level of security is not an overriding factor in adoption with the focus on cost effectiveness, convenience, and reliability. The lack of alternative solutions has helped MIFARE cement a strong market presence early on and the depth and breadth of the current product range gives the brand continued success. Historically, the market has been dominated by proprietary systems such as MIFARE and Calypso, although moves are unde ...

Annual Smart Grid Spending to Reach $65 Billion by 2017

2012-05-04T10:00:00-0400

Annual global spending on smart grid technologies, including smart meter implementations, as well as upgrades to transmission and distribution infrastructure, is expected to reach $65 billion by 2017.Much of the electricity infrastructure in operation today is antiquated, highly inefficient, and cannot reliably manage the loads of today and tomorrow without significant upgrades taking place. With climate change high on the political agenda and utilities keen to increase operational efficiencies, there is an obvious and pressing need for a complete overhaul of all aspects of the grid in order to make it smarter. To this end, work has begun on ensuring that the smart grid will soon become a reality with large-scale smart metering deployment ...

iPad and Tablets are Hot but Not Yet a Laptop Replacement, According to US Consumer Responses

2012-05-01T11:45:00-0400

Amazon’s Kindle Fire may have captured headlines in late 2011, but even after establishing a new key price point to help fuel strong sales/interest by consumers for media tablets beyond Apple, the device category has yet to quell interest in portable computers. One in three respondents in an ongoing tracking study said they plan to purchase a laptop computer in the first half of 2012.Additionally, 16% of respondents to ABI Research’s Technology Barometer also said they plan to acquire a media tablet. Consumers expressed greater purchase intent in both computing form factors compared to the previous survey. “US consumers are holding on to home PCs longer,” says consumer research group director Jeff Orr. “This has created a near-term opp ...