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Substantial Market Niche Emerging for Wi-Fi/Cellular Phones
Published on:
A recent survey of U.S. early adopters by market researcher, In-Stat found that almost half of those respondents planning to replace their cell phones want Wi-Fi capability. To meet the growing demand, there is an avalanche of dual-mode phones in the pipeline. By the end of this year, the Wi-Fi Alliance will have certified more than 100 different models of Wi-Fi/Cellular phones.
"In the years ahead, dual-mode VoIP-capable phone systems will have increasing competition from other technologies, like femtocells for cellular coverage, but widespread Wi-Fi deployment and the variety of Wi-Fi/Cellular handsets offers Wi-Fi/Cellular-based systems a significant head start in the market," says Allen Nogee, In-Stat Principal Analyst.
"Other technologies, such as WiMAX and Ultra Wideband, are also poised to enter the handset market, but Wi-Fi fills a unique niche that WiMAX and UWB cannot match."
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
- Phones supporting voice over Wi-Fi are limited in numbers today, but will exceed 100 models by year end.
- VoIP will be big; the number of Wi-Fi/Cellular phones shipped incorporating some form of SIP voice support is forecasted to exceed 50 million by 2011.
- Many of the issues with early Wi-Fi/Cellular handsets, such as limited battery life, will be resolved in models released during 2007.
Tags: [voip] [in-stat] [uwb] [battery] [femtocells] [wi-fi alliance] [sip] [dual-mode]
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