Wireless, Consumer Products Continue to Drive Semiconductor Industry

In-Stat Buoyed by fast-growing new technologies in the wireless, broadband equipment, and consumer electronics arenas, the semiconductor industry will continue strong growth this decade after the lean years of 2001 and 2002. Some of the fastest-growing silicon categories include wireless cellular modems (2.5 million units shipped in 2004 to 14.6 million units in 2009), wireless LAN chipsets (84 million units shipped in 2004 to 390 million units in 2009), and digital TV sets (16.5 million units shipped in 2004 to 93.8 million units in 2009). Cellular technology in particular, will continue to be a major growth engine through the remainder of the decade. The potential market for arguably the most successful consumer product of all time, the cellular handset, will grow from 1.6 billion cellular phone subscribers worldwide to 2.6 billion subscribers by 2009. That will represent one-third of the world’s population.

• Sale of video game consoles bottomed out in 2005 at 16.5 million units. The launch of new products in the segment will double the size of the market by 2008.

• The PC is not dead. Some 100 million CPUs were sold in 2002; I 187.3 million units will be sold in 2005.

• As to be expected, not all applications paint rosy pictures. PDAs are a dying product line as they are being absorbed in smartphones. By 2009, shipment levels will be almost 1/3 of 2005 levels.

Show Me the Money!!! Sixty Applications to Fill Your Semiconductor Fab Publ 20051130