ConfigCon Set to Address New Opportunities Emerging in Communications and Consumer Electronics

Semico : Tthe use of Configurable 32-bit CPU cores is going to be the next major driver in several of the sub-families in the ASIC market, such as the System-on-a-Chip (SoC), the Structured ASIC, the Application Specific Standard Product (ASSPs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).

Silicon that includes 32-bit CPU cores in general will increase to 3,117.7M units by 2009, with a CAGR of 12.8%. However, of this total, silicon that uses configurable 32-bit CPU cores will reach 605.8M units by 2009, a CAGR of 45.9%.

The 32-bit CPU core market will segment between the different types of semiconductor devices that can use CPU cores. ASSPs will be the product family to lead in revenues with over $11.6B by 2009, a 17.5% CAGR. Performance SoCs follow closely behind ASSPs in revenues shipped.

The reason for this dramatic increase in configurable CPU core usage is the added flexibility a configurable CPU core brings to the designer in crafting his final silicon solution. Now, the instruction set of the CPU core can be tailored to fit the end application much more closely. In effect, designers can now remove unnecessary gates by combining instructions to remove software bottlenecks. This can have wide implications on end system performance, power consumption, speed and die area.

An additional benefit from the use of configurable CPU cores is starting to become more prominent in the thinking of system architects and designers, namely security.

One of the realities of the high tech market is reverse engineering. Companies need to protect their life blood, namely their intellectual property. Chips can be de-capped and the circuit design examined. Software can be analyzed and copied. The instruction set extensions of configurable cores are more of a hybrid. The circuit design includes additional transistors generated from EDA tools. These circuits are the result of customized code. It would be very difficult for someone to determine the circuit design and the associated code. Configurable cores add a level of security to protect IP, making it substantially more difficult to de-construct an algorithm.

A further finding of the study shows that the number of CPU cores being utilized in ASICs today is rising as designers seek to deliver the processing power necessary by new emerging applications. The tradeoff between using multiple CPU cores and performance requirements is a favorable one. In reality it costs relatively little to embed additional CPU cores in terms of die area and overall system cost. This reinforces the trend towards configurability since designers are now not only able to use multiple CPU cores in a design, they can tailor the instruction set of each one to directly fit the needs of the application. More: Configurable CPU core

Publ 20060131

IP PBX Sales to Reach $2 Billion in 2010. IP PBX Leads Enterprise Voice Market Growth

delOro: IP PBX sales are forecasted to reach $2 billion in 2010, nearly a three-fold increase from 2005. Combined IP PBX and Hybrid IP/TDM PBX sales are projected to gain share steadily over traditional PBX and key systems.

The conversion to VoIP is the dominant factor in the enterprise voice market over the next several years. Modernizing the installed base of traditional PBX technology to IP telephony requires coordinated investment in data networking and enterprise voice equipment. During this technology transition, Hybrid IP/TDM PBXs that embody newer IP and legacy TDM technology will represent a majority of sales,Sales of IP telephones to exceed $4 billion in 2010, driven by businesses adopting IP Centrex service and upgrading PBX handsets to IP telephones. In addition, consumers of residential Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) are expected to adopt wireless LAN phones and soft phones. IP PBX Sales Publ 20060131

Color TV's Are Growing by at Least 5% Annually, the Market Will Reach 215.5 Million Units in Size by 2009

Research and Markets: The increasing popularity of digital and LCD TVs is fueling the global TV market. Growing by at least 5% annually, the market will reach 215.5 million units in size by 2009. Manufacturers in mainland China and Taiwan are racing to ramp up production to match this rising demand. By the end of year, exports are forecast to be up more than 75%. Now you can profit from the boom with this in-depth report featuring profiles of 41 key manufacturers. Use this straight-from-the-factory-floor research to identify suppliers that best meet your needs.

Global Sources China Sourcing Report: Color TVs Publ 200650131

Double Brewing For Itunes As Verizon Launches Microsoft-Based Music Service

Strategy Analytics: That sales of digital music (online music plus mobile music and ring tones) within Western Europe and North America accounted for 13.9 percent of total consumer spending on music last year, Strategy Analytics projects that by 2010 more than $8.2 billion worth of music will be delivered via digital platforms in the same regions, accounting for almost 30 percent of total music sales.

Source: Strategy Analytics

Additionally, Apple's dominance of the online music space will come under increasing pressure as competitors target the shortcomings of Apple's iTunes Music Store (ITMS). As a strategy to bring it into mobile, Apple's partnership with Motorola has failed. Its lack of a subscription payment model as well as the fact that it is currently limited to iPod music players, will increasingly put Apple?? at a disadvantage to services such as V Cast Music. The speed with which sales of music player enabled mobile phones will overtake dedicated music players will accelerate this trend. (Figure 2).

global Mobile Phone Music Player Shipments Vs Dedicated Players

Source: Strategy Analytics

We believe that Apple's experience with Motorola rules out any quick launch of an iPod with built in cellular radio, and that Apple will continue to build resources towards bringing a wireless enabled product to market in 24 to 36 months. He further notes, As a result, Microsoft will gain strength as the most viable immediate alternative for manufacturers and service providers seeking to gain share for themselves.

Broadband Homes & Online Music: Already a Billion-Dollar Business Publ 200650131

Global VoIP Subscribers to Top 55 Million in 2009

In-Stat: The global market for consumer VoIP services has arrived, with total VoIP subscribers worldwide at 16 million in 2005 and projected to grow to over 55 million in 2009. But despite an impressive 62% year-over-year subscriber growth rate in 2005, few consumers have ever heard of the term “VoIP”. This indicates providers have to continue to educate the public, and that there is considerable room for market growth.

Competition in broadband access services is the key driving force behind VoIP market development. In addition, multiple waves of new entrants, ranging from broadband ISPs and cable MSOs, to Google and eBay will play significant roles.

• 73% of all VoIP subscribers worldwide have migrated to VoIP without making a conscious buying decision to adopt the new technology.

• In North America and Canada, cable operators are aggressively expanding their VoIP footprint, but are marketing VoIP as plain old telephone service.

• In Asia, South Korea will have the highest VoIP growth rate, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore.

• In Europe, broadband ISPs, such as Free Telecom (France) and FastWeb (Italy) are leading the way with innovative consumer triple-play service bundles.

Global VOIP Has Arrived; Just Not As Expected! Publ 200650131

Managed Services to Provide Competitive Edge in Maturing Mobile Markets

In-Stat: As the mobile industry matures and service providers seek innovative ways to reshape their businesses and successfully compete for subscribers, they are increasingly turning to vendors of outsourced and managed services solutions to support key areas of service delivery and network operations. These managed services solutions enable mobile operators to rapidly launch innovative applications and services and explore new business opportunities while reducing capital expenditures and operating costs and better mitigating the risks associated with innovation. Global and regional vendor revenue forecasts through 2010 for a broad range of MAS, MVNE, managed network services, and managed BSS/OSS services targeted at mobile operators.

• The overall global mobile managed services market is projected to more than double over the next five years – growing from $22.2 billion in 2006 to $52.2 billion in 2010.

• Evolution of network operator technology infrastructure is creating new opportunities for third-party vendors to deliver managed services to mobile service providers and requiring service providers to re-evaluate their managed services strategies.

• Markets for traditional managed services, such as customer care and billing and network management, will continue to grow but will be eclipsed by rapidly growing markets for MAS and MVNE solutions.

• Leading mobile infrastructure and applications vendors are aggressively developing and marketing comprehensive managed services solutions as they migrate from product-based to services-based solutions.

Managed Network Services for Mobile Operators: Multi-Client Study Publ 200650131

The Camera Phone as Scanner:

ABI: When is a camera phone not a camera? When it behaves like a reader, receiving and displaying coded information from the objects in front of its lens. It means using the camera phone not as a picture-taker but as a scanner capturing metadata about products or services related to objects around us. I think we'll see more of this in coming years. That data can be visible, as in the case of barcodes or the QR codes popular in Japan; or unseen, as in steganography which in its current form, announced by Fujitsu in mid-2005, involves hiding information in printed pictures, invisible to the human eye but extractable by Fujitsu's algorithms in a camera phone. Imagine walking through the park and aiming your camera phone at a data tag on a statue. It directs your phone's browser to a web page about a historic building that used to stand there, or a concert that played there last summer, complete with video clips. Aim your camera phone at a scene pictured in a magazine, and it could deliver a map or other information about the site. In a store, you could scan a product's label and get the latest consumer report article about it. In the supermarket, you could retrieve a list of a food's ingredients to ensure they won't trigger an allergic reaction. None of this is widely available yet, but some steps towards it are visible. One company, scanR, lets you use your camera phone as a scanner, copier and fax. Nextcode offers free downloadable software that reads certain kinds of barcodes and allows the phone user to download product information, ringtones and wallpapers. Another company, Mobot, lets consumers photograph advertisements, products and logos, then scans the image using its own visual recognition technology and directs them to related information. Mobile Phone Imaging, Publ 200650131

VoIP Market to Reach $3.3 Billion by 2010. VoIP is becoming a critical and cost-effective business tool

Yankee Group: US. The business VoIP market will reach $3.3 billion in service revenue by 2010. Businesses favor VoIP because it provides measurable cost savings, an excellent converged platform for voice and data, and improves the manageability of communications. The most anticipated growth in revenue will come in the hosted VoIP market, a communications solution appealing to enterprises because it enables migration from legacy systems to a managed IP solution without incurring capital expenditure. Yankee defines the fragmented VoIP market in three divisions: VoIP over VPN, VoIP real-time QoS bandwidth and hosted VoIP. Large multinational companies leverage VoIP over VPN to eliminate long-distance toll charges for communications between sites. Verticals such as broadcasting and healthcare use VoIP real-time QoS bandwidth, which provides real-time voice, data and video applications and can carry on-net or off-net traffic. Hosted VoIP enables enterprises to save on capital expenditure on equipment and infrastructure upgrades, as well as on management contracts. Through 2010,predicts growth for these segments; the DecisionNote details the revenue breakdown for each.

The growth of the VoIP market has great potential to influence the long-term viability of the telecommunications industry. Virtually all major carriers, systems integrators and equipment vendors now offer different varieties of business VoIP services. And those that are not already exploring ways to capitalize on this revenue opportunity need to start now.

As competition becomes fiercer across all industries, enterprises are continually pressured to control—if not decrease—costs. This pressure to diminish expenses forced a rise of VoIP from an emerging technology to a critical business solution. Of the three divisions within the VoIP market, hosted VoIP is leading the pack and will continue to experience growth and fuel the industry by offering a solution for enterprises to save on capital expenditure. Business VoIP Services Poised for Dramatic Growth VoIP? Wikipeida VPN? Wikipedia Red VikingPubl 20060131

ONLINE CONSUMERS SPEND AS MUCH TIME ONLINE AS IN FRONT OF THE TV

JupiterResearch,:The Internet is becoming the most important medium for a large segment of the American public. The average online consumer spends 14 hours a week online, which is the same amount of time they watch TV.

Even the most intensive users of newspapers and magazines spend less time reading these publications than they do online or watching TV. TV and newspaper companies risk losing an entire generation of users unless they immediately start promoting their online products. In addition to matching the time spent watching TV, the Internet is displacing the use of other media such as radio, magazines and books. Books are suffering the most; 37% of all online users report that they spend less time reading books because of their online activities. The intensive online users are the most likely demographic to use advanced Internet technology, such as streaming radio and RSS.

Multi-channel media companies must recognize the vital importance of the Internet, and then go beyond replicating their offline properties to tailor their online strategy to the distinctive characteristics and preferences of online audiences.

The complete findings of this report are immediately available to JupiterResearch clients online at www.jupiterresearch.com. U.S. Entertainment and Media Consumer Survey,

Travel and Hospitality Sectors Present New Business Opportunities for Digital Document and Content Management Providers

InfoTrends: In recent years, the travel and hospitality industry has been hard hit by everything from natural disasters to rising fuel costs, all of which have taken their toll on its viability. As a result, businesses are now looking for new ways to streamline operations and reduce costs by focusing on core business functions. This scenario creates new opportunities for providers of digital document and content management products and services.

Key to success in this market is the ability to provide comprehensive solutions that are accurate, flexible, innovative, and help reduce expenses while delivering significant value to the organization. Service providers should focus in on important trends such as automation, the Internet, and security and marketing collateral.”

Increasingly, travel and hospitality organizations are exploring areas that lend themselves to automation to eliminate the need for additional manpower and reduce the frequency of costly errors. Digital document and content management providers have an opportunity to help these companies manage, analyze, package, and distribute information; identify opportunities for automation; and develop internal processes that further improve operating efficiencies and effectiveness.

The Internet has become an integral component in transacting business in the travel and hospitality sector, more so than in many other industries. This requires that travel and hospitality companies integrate programs and procedures for managing data and content to support e-commerce – in data and content management, communications, correspondence, marketing, and overall information flow. Providers who can empower travel and hospitality organizations in using the Internet as a transaction and communication vehicle will assist these businesses in developing a more aggressive position versus their competitors.

The need to manage sensitive information is critical to the travel and hospitality sector. They will benefit from products and services provided by digital document and content management providers that have experience in developing safe document workflow products and practices and managing secure electronic environments where they are needed.

Travel and hospitality businesses are continually marketing their products. The benefits of capabilities such as electronic data management and distribution, electronic document storage and distribution, imaging, and print-on-demand are crucial to organizations focused on promoting products and services, growing their business, maintaining information and document integrity, and optimizing operating efficiencies.

Travel and Hospitality Industry: The Document Services Opportunity Publ 20060130

Market for MEMS in Mobile Communications Will Reach 750 M$ in 2009

Research and Markets :

MEMS devices for mobile phones include:

-- Silicon microphone: now at least 2 companies have devices available (Knowles Acoustics and SonionMEMS). The market has reached more than 95 M. units in 2005, 15% higher than our expectations

-- 3D accelerometers: for this application also, the market has increased very rapidly with the new use of the inertial sensors, especially on the Japanese market (for GPS positioning) and in Korea (active logo)

-- 6 DOF IMU: more and more interest is seen from handset manufacturers having an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for high end mobile phone

-- Gyroscope for camera stabilisation and GPS: still under development, as predicted, with a product introduction in 2007 at the earliest

-- Microfuel cell: product introduction announcements in 2007 have been made by several Japanese companies. This was in line with our last year estimation. Volume business should start in 2008. MEMS will be a key technology for the fuel cell but also for several other key devices, like microvalves or gaz detectors

-- Chemical and Biochip: personal weather station and health care monitor

-- RF MEMS: still only one type of product on the market (FBAR from Agilent, Infineon and other companies) with very strong growth of the unit sold... but with a very strong decrease of the price. Another device announced is the replacement of the quartz oscillator by the MEMS based oscillator, starting at the end of 2006

-- Enhanced auto focus and micro zoom: now several companies are proposing MEMS based devices, including Varioptic which is the only company close to production; a spin off from Philips named Laquavista has just been created in order to industrialize the electro-wetting technologies from Philips for displays.

MEMS devices are slowly entering step into the mobile phone business and they are key devices to leverage these new functions. Linked to that, the main industrial companies are now entering the MEMS fields to take part in this growing business. The market will reach 750 M$ in 2009.

Compared to the last estimation, the market in units is growing much faster than expected but at the same time, the market in value is lower than expected: it is now thought that the 2008 market will be in the range of 550 M$ (compared to last year's estimation of 620 M$).

Mems4Mobile 06 Publ 20060130

LCD Monitor Market Reaches $35B in 2005; Industry Leaders to Discuss Upward Momentum at DisplaySearch US FPD Conference

Displaysearch: Worldlwide LCD desktop monitor shipments grew more than expected in Q3'5, rising 20% Q/Q and 68% Y/Y to 28.4M units. As Q4'05 final worldl wide numbers are tallied from all channels and regions, an additional 11% growth in worldlwide branded volume shipments is expected resulting in annual unit shipments of 106.2M with revenues reaching $35B. 2005 LCD monitor shipments are expected to rise 54% for 2005, the highest yearly growth rate since 2003 when the market was less than half its current size. With this high unit volume growth, LCD monitors are expected to account for 74.1% of the total desktop monitors shipped in Q4’05, as shown in Table 1, leading many to question whether the worldl ’s largest outlet for larger-size LCD technology is becoming saturated. With top producers indicating increased multiple monitor use for standard office applications as well as the growing acceptance of wide aspect ratios for office and home use, the desktop monitor market could be on the verge of its next replacement cycle.

Table 1: Market Share for LCD and CRT Monitors

	Q3'04	Q4'04	Q1'05	Q2'05	Q3'05	Q4'05 (F)
LCD Monitors	50.3%	56.2%	62.6%	64.8%	70.8%	74.1%
LCD PCs	0.8%	1.3%	1.1%	1.3%	1.1%	1.2%
CRT Monitors	48.9%	42.5%	36.4%	33.9%	28.1%	24.7%
Total Desktop Monitors	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

With industry leaders from all facets of the LCD monitor mix presenting their outlooks and strategies, this session will provide an insightful look into the future of this exciting market Additionally, while the consumer market continues to be the most visible market, analysis shows that the B2B market still represents 61.4% of the worldlwide shipment of LCD monitors. Hearing additional insight into the new technologies such as LED backlighting for LCDs and smart displays, as well as other trends to help improve worker productivity, will help put the B2B and B2C market differences into perspective for the audience. 8th Annual DisplaySearch US FPD Publ 20060130

Carriers Beware! About 80% of In-Stat’s Survey Respondents Would Consider Buying Service from an MVNO

In-Stat: While resellers of cellular service have long been part of cellular channels to market, the recent growth of strongly branded Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MNVOs) is creating a new way to compete for current subscribers and offering opportunities for significantly increased Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). These carriers are entering a crowded and competitive market, with more than two-thirds of US residents current cellular subscribers, and more than 20 MVNOs in operation and many in the planning stages. This complex environment requires a deep understanding of the true demand and marketing challenges that will determine how these MVNOs succeed and thrive. To understand consumer interests and behaviors toward MVNOs.

• About 80% of both planned and current cellular subscribers would consider buying service from an MVNO.

• Compared to other providers, customers of the smaller US national carriers are likely to churn and represent potential prospects for MVNO services.

• Most wireless purchasing decisions are based on three main factors; coverage, service quality and price.

• Consumers considering wireless usage may be swayed by payment flexibility and cash payment options.

• Respondents who are not yet wireless customers will likely talk less than current subscribers; however, they offer a greater potential for usage of data services.

• Consumers considering wireless usage believe they will purchase ring tones and games more than current wireless users.

• Consumers considering subscribing to wireless services will want to see camera phone/MMS services, in particular, as well as SMS/instant messaging and PIM services as part of the offering. Both current and planned wireless users express the most interest in subscribing to wireless services offered by major consumer electronics brands and non-wireless telecommunications companies.

• Psychographic factor analysis found five distinct psychographic profiles including hard-charging commuters, sports fans, music fanatics, city dwellers and young professionals.

MVNOs: Current and Planned Wireless Subscriber Interest in Alternative Carriers Publ 20060130

HDMI Gaining as DVI Heads for a Slide

In-Stat: Digital Visual Interface (DVI) technology continued to lose ground in the Consumer Electronics (CE) market to its sister technology, High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), and is headed for losses in the PC market. HDMI-enabled device shipments increased from 5 million in 2004 to 17.4 million in 2005. DVI-enabled shipments are projected to reach just under 66 million in 2006, and then begin a steady decline. There are two reasons for the projected DVI decline. One is that the recently released HDMI 1.2 specification makes the standard more compatible with PCs. The second is two new specifications announced in 2005, DisplayPort and Unified Display Interface (UDI), which offer higher bandwidth and simpler design than DVI.

• DVI should be completely out of the CE market by 2008.

• HDMI has seen its initial success in digital televisions expand into other devices including set-top boxes and DVD players and recorders.

• DisplayPort and UDI represent less of a threat to HDMI than DVI.

DVI & HDMI 2005: DVI Gloom, HDMI Boom, DisplayPort & UDI Loom HDMI? Wikipeida Publ 20060130

VoIP-friendly Wi-Fi Access Points as Step Toward Converged Services

ABI: That holy grail of wireless/IP convergence, the seamless handoff of a dual-mode phone call from a Wi-Fi network to a cellular network, is still a rare phenomenon in most places. But we are taking small steps towards it now, in the form of a new class of specialized Wi-Fi access points designed to support voice-over-IP. Connected to a VoIP network and phone service, these access points provide VoIP's cheaper services to cellular phone users within range of their Wi-Fi transmitters. They may also offer better-than-cellular indoor coverage. If the user leaves the zone of Wi-Fi coverage, and if (but only if) his or her mobile operator supports such services, these devices will also hand off calls from Wi-Fi to cellular. Motorola's recently-announced RSG system, expected by late this year, exemplifies the trend. If such products prove successful it will validate the idea and the importance of voice-over-Wi-Fi. Even a system providing a limited service, without operator-supported handoffs, offers rewards in the form of cheaper calls and better indoor coverage. If these VoIP/Wi-Fi access products enjoy considerable market success, that would also support forecasts of a boom in dual-mode cellular/VoWi-Fi devices. Voice over Wi-Fi: Market Dynamics for Enterprise and Consumer VoWi-Fi, and Dual-mode Cellular/VoWi-Fi Handsets VoIP? Wikipeida Publ 20060130

Europe's Online Advertising Up, But Still Lags Behind US Growth

eMarketer Internet ad spending in the five largest nations in Western Europe — France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK (the EU-5) — reached €1.9 billion (approx. $2.2 billion) in 2005, a healthy 38% increase over 2004's spending,.

While considerable, that figure clearly lags behind eMarketer's $12.9 billion estimate of 2005 US online advertising spending. Especially when you consider that those five nations have 131.5 million Internet users (or 77% of the corresponding US figure). That number will increase to 174.6 million EU-5 Internet users by 2008. While the European Internet ad market may not be the same as in the US, it's much like an echo—a similar sound but a few beats behind. That means spending still has far to go before catching up with the more avid audience, and traditional advertisers are still putting more money in old-time media (notably print) where audiences spend less and less time. In all 17 Western Europe nations, Internet ad spending in 2005 increased to €2.7 billion (approx. $3.2 billion). That's about a quarter of all US online advertising spending .

But longstanding country-by-country differences in Western Europe may point to growth in one area, and the opposite elsewhere. In 2006, there will be 154.1 million Internet users in the five largest Western European nations, with the largest group coming from Germany. But Spain, with the fewest people going online among the EU-5 countries, will likely see the highest growth this year. More than 50% of the total population goes online in only the UK and Germany. By next year, though, France and Italy will also pass that critical mass mark.

Europe Online Advertising report. Publ 20060126

Optical Equipment Market to Grow Through 2010

Dell’Oro: Strongest Growth to Occur in the Near-Term Across All Optical Technologies. The market for Optical Transport equipment will approach $11 billion by 2010. The majority of this growth will occur by 2008 as service providers focus on projects that deliver video and higher-speed data to residential areas.

The focus by service providers to offer increasing amounts of bandwidth to homes is having a material impact on the optical market. It is one of the primary drivers for the optical market’s expected 21 percent growth in 2005 and makes the shift towards 10-gigabit systems in the metro compelling beyond just price. 10-gig systems will be a requirement to support the anticipated bandwidth demanded by these residential services. Optical Equipment Market to Grow Through 2010 Publ 20060124

Record Service Provider Router Market in 2006 .

Dell’Oro Annual IP Network Investments to Grow Through 2010, But at Declining Rates. The trusted source for information about the networking and telecommunications industries, the worldwide market for service provider routers is poised to attain record levels in 2006, and continue expanding through 2010. Ssales of routers to service providers to exceed $5 billion in 2006, surpassing the peak previously established at the height of the technology boom in 2000.

We see upside to the service provider router market for several more years, driven by broadband subscriber and service growth. However, we expect annual growth rates to come down significantly over the next five years as networks get built out and services ramp up.

Annual IP Network Investments Publ 20060126

Americans usage of the Intrernet

Pew: USA. Younger internet users are more likely than older ones to IM, play online games, and create blogs

Teens and Generation Y (age 18-28) are significantly more likely than older users to send and receive instant messages, play online games, create blogs, download music, and search for school information. Internet access is the norm for most Americans, up to age 70, and all age cohorts of internet users (ages 12 and older) are equally likely to use email; about 90% of all internet users send or receive email. Given the many other variations in internet use among different age groups, it is notable that this basic communications tool is almost universally used.

Internet users ages 12 to 28 years old have embraced the online applications that enable communicative, creative, and social uses. Teens and Generation Y (age 18-28) are significantly more likely than older users to send and receive instant messages, play online games, create blogs, download music, and search for school information.

Many of these trends seem to be rooted the different needs and interests of each generation.While it may appear that carefree teens and Gen Yers are simply having more fun online than the more practically motivated older generations, the communicative and social skills they are developing during these formative years may, in fact, prove to be practical tools that will serve them well in the future.”

Internet users ages 29 to 69 years old are more likely than internet users in other age groups to engage in online activities that require some capital: travel reservations and online banking. Buying a product online is equally popular with all internet users except those at either end of the age scale: teens and internet users age 70 or older. Seniors are not only less likely to go online, but are more cautious about what they do once they get access. Email is the one online activity that is attractive to all groups, including people over age 70.”

Generations Online. Publ 20060122

The internet improves Americans’ capacity to maintain their social networks and get help

Pew: US. The internet and email expand and strengthen the social ties that people maintain in the offline world. One major payoff comes when people use the internet to press their social networks into action as they face major challenges. People not only socialize online, but they also incorporate the internet into their quest for information and advice as they seek help and make decisions. Disputing concerns that heavy use of the internet might diminish people’s social relations, the report finds that the internet fits seamlessly with Americans’ in-person and phone encounters. With the help of the internet, people are able to maintain active contact with sizable social networks, even though many of the people in those networks do not live close to them. The larger, the more far-flung, and the more diverse a person’s network, the more important email is. You can’t make phone calls or personal visits to all your friends very often, but you can ‘cc’ them regularly with a couple of keystrokes. That turns out to be very important.” One major benefit comes when people want to mobilize their networks as they face problems or significant decisions. The Pew Internet Project survey finds that internet users are more likely than non-users to have been helped by those in their networks as they faced important events in their life. Internet use provides online Americans a path to resources, such as access to people who may have the right information to help deal with family health crises or find a new job. When you need help these days, you don’t need a bugle to call the cavalry, you need a big buddy list. In addition to using the internet to get help from their networks, some use the internet to get information and compare options as they face decisions and milestones in their lives. One of the Pew Internet Project surveys covered in this report shows that 45% of internet users – about 60 million Americans – say the internet has played an important or crucial role in helping them deal with at least one major life decision in the previous two years. That is a 33% increase from a similar survey in early 2002.

The eight major decisions queried in a March 2005 survey were:

Getting additional training for your career: About 21 million said the internet had played a crucial or important role in this.

Helping another person with a major illness or medical condition: About 17 million said the internet had played a crucial or important role in this.

Choosing a school for yourself or a child: About 17 million said the internet had played a crucial or important role in this.

Buying a car: About 16 million said the internet had played a crucial or important role in this.

Making a major investment or financial decision: About 16 million said the internet had played a crucial or important role in this.

Finding a new place to live: About 10 million said the internet had played a crucial or important role in this.

Changing jobs: About 8 million said the internet had played a crucial or important role in this.

Dealing oneself with a major illness or health condition: About 7 million said the internet had played a crucial or important role in this.

American Life Project The Strength of Internet Ties Publ 20060125

Fibre Channel Switch Sales Rebound in 2006

del'Oro:Fibre Channel HBA Sales Bolstered by Blade Server Market. Fibre Channel switches to accelerate during 2006, and to surpass $2.0 billion by 2009. Sales of Fibre Channel switches stalled in 2005, largely because distribution partners took a long time to test and approve the new higher-speed switches from Brocade and McDATA – not because of diminishing end-user demand. End-users have a healthy appetite for storage equipment, as demonstrated by EMC’s and IBM’s banner storage results in their most recent quarters. We think end-users plan to network their equipment to maximize utilization. Now, both Brocade and McDATA’s high-speed switches have passed qualification and are widely available to users – we think there is pent-up demand for these higher-speed switches.

Forecasts that Host Bus Adapter (HBA) manufacturers such as Emulex and QLogic will enjoy an extra boost in 2006, largely from the blade server market. Server vendors who manufactured their own blade server HBAs have captured the vast majority of this business to date; however, This business to shift to the Fibre Channel HBA manufacturers over the course of 2006. Fibre Channel Switch Sales Publ 20060126

Non-Games PC Software Sales Were Flat in 2005

NPD: Weakness in Education, Imaging/Graphics, Operating System and Personal Productivity Categories Offset Strong Sales of Business and Finance Categories

U.S. retail sales of non-games software totaled $2.4 billion in 2005, an increase of less than one percent. Weak sales in the Education, Imaging/Graphics, Operating System and Personal Productivity categories offset the strong sales of the Business and Finance categories, which showed respective increases of nine percent and four percent over 2004.

In the Business category, the low-priced Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition was the best-selling title. The continued strength of this title in the U.S. retail channel shows that the price elasticity of demand for Microsoft Office was much more elastic than many had previously estimated.

With regard to Finance, in 2005, Personal Finance titles such as Intuit's Quicken and Microsoft Money were the best performing group, with dollars up seven percent over 2004.

The four non-games categories that experienced negative dollar growth include Education, Imaging/Graphics, Operating System and Personal Productivity, with respective declines of 17 percent, one percent, 11 percent and 14 percent.

The big surprise in 2005 was the abrupt slow down in the System Utilities category. Although units in the category were up 13 percent over 2004, increased competition led to lower prices, which led to a dollar total for the category that was flat in 2005. This is in stark contrast to past performance. Over the previous five years, dollars grew 27 percent compounded annually (2000-2004). Moreover, in 2004, sales of system utility titles increased 48 percent over 2003, as consumers reacted to the rapid increase in viruses, spyware and other malware threatening their PCs.

System Utility titles are without question some of the best-selling titles in the non-games software category. For example, in 2005, Symantec's Norton Antivirus 2005 and Webroot's Spy Sweeper Tech Bench were the second and third best selling software titles, overall. However, we identified a slowdown for System Utility titles in the second quarter of 2005, making it readily apparent that the new versions of both the high- and low-end security software titles weren't going to achieve the same levels of dollar growth as they did in 2004.

Education, the category with the lowest sales performance over the last five years, was again the worst performing category in 2005, with dollars shrinking 17 percent over 2004. This is somewhat of an improvement, however, as the category has averaged a decline of 26 percent over the preceding five years.

Annual 2005 Top 10 PC Software Titles, Ranked by Units Sold
Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	ARP
1	TurboTax 2004 Deluxe	Intuit	Aug-04	$40
2	Norton Antivirus 2005	Symantec	Feb-04	$13
3	Spy Sweeper Tech Bench	Webroot	Aug-04	$65
4	TurboTax 2004 Multi State 45	Intuit	Oct-04	$40
5	MS Office 2003 Student/Teacher Ed	Microsoft	Sep-04	$30
6	Norton Internet Security 2005	Symantec	Apr-03	$26
7	Norton Internet Security 2005/Password Manager 2004 Bundle	Symantec	Sep-05	$34
8	Norton Antivirus 2005 Upgr	Symantec	Sep-05	$66
9	Taxcut 2004 Deluxe	Block Financial	Aug-04	$64
10	TurboTax 2004	Intuit	Sep-04	$8
Source: The NPD Group / U.S. Retail Point-of-Sale Data

New technologies at more affordable prices gave people a lot of incentive to get the necessities and a little something extra last year. It’s the beginning of a trend that we should see continue through 2006, which will benefit not only the consumer, but the manufacturers as well.”

Non-Games PC Software Sales Publ 20060126

Non-Games PC Software Sales Were Flat in 2005

NPD: Weakness in Education, Imaging/Graphics, Operating System and Personal Productivity Categories Offset Strong Sales of Business and Finance Categories

U.S. retail sales of non-games software totaled $2.4 billion in 2005, an increase of less than one percent. Weak sales in the Education, Imaging/Graphics, Operating System and Personal Productivity categories offset the strong sales of the Business and Finance categories, which showed respective increases of nine percent and four percent over 2004.

In the Business category, the low-priced Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition was the best-selling title. The continued strength of this title in the U.S. retail channel shows that the price elasticity of demand for Microsoft Office was much more elastic than many had previously estimated.

With regard to Finance, in 2005, Personal Finance titles such as Intuit's Quicken and Microsoft Money were the best performing group, with dollars up seven percent over 2004.

The four non-games categories that experienced negative dollar growth include Education, Imaging/Graphics, Operating System and Personal Productivity, with respective declines of 17 percent, one percent, 11 percent and 14 percent.

The big surprise in 2005 was the abrupt slow down in the System Utilities category. Although units in the category were up 13 percent over 2004, increased competition led to lower prices, which led to a dollar total for the category that was flat in 2005. This is in stark contrast to past performance. Over the previous five years, dollars grew 27 percent compounded annually (2000-2004). Moreover, in 2004, sales of system utility titles increased 48 percent over 2003, as consumers reacted to the rapid increase in viruses, spyware and other malware threatening their PCs.

System Utility titles are without question some of the best-selling titles in the non-games software category. For example, in 2005, Symantec's Norton Antivirus 2005 and Webroot's Spy Sweeper Tech Bench were the second and third best selling software titles, overall. However, we identified a slowdown for System Utility titles in the second quarter of 2005, making it readily apparent that the new versions of both the high- and low-end security software titles weren't going to achieve the same levels of dollar growth as they did in 2004.

Education, the category with the lowest sales performance over the last five years, was again the worst performing category in 2005, with dollars shrinking 17 percent over 2004. This is somewhat of an improvement, however, as the category has averaged a decline of 26 percent over the preceding five years.

Annual 2005 Top 10 PC Software Titles, Ranked by Units Sold
Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	ARP
1	TurboTax 2004 Deluxe	Intuit	Aug-04	$40
2	Norton Antivirus 2005	Symantec	Feb-04	$13
3	Spy Sweeper Tech Bench	Webroot	Aug-04	$65
4	TurboTax 2004 Multi State 45	Intuit	Oct-04	$40
5	MS Office 2003 Student/Teacher Ed	Microsoft	Sep-04	$30
6	Norton Internet Security 2005	Symantec	Apr-03	$26
7	Norton Internet Security 2005/Password Manager 2004 Bundle	Symantec	Sep-05	$34
8	Norton Antivirus 2005 Upgr	Symantec	Sep-05	$66
9	Taxcut 2004 Deluxe	Block Financial	Aug-04	$64
10	TurboTax 2004	Intuit	Sep-04	$8
Source: The NPD Group / U.S. Retail Point-of-Sale Data

New technologies at more affordable prices gave people a lot of incentive to get the necessities and a little something extra last year. It’s the beginning of a trend that we should see continue through 2006, which will benefit not only the consumer, but the manufacturers as well.”

Non-Games PC Software Sales Publ 20060126

Resisting municipal broadband is futile, as deployments set to double in 2006

Visiongain: There are over 400 cities worldwide planning to deploy municipal broadband networks and the number will double in 2006, making community broadband initiatives a very real and significant trend. Despite legal opposition and intense lobbying from incumbent telcos and cable companies, municipal broadband is coming and is here to stay. As of Q1 2006, there are over 100 city and regional wireless broadband networks operational worldwide, more than 40 of which are in the US.

Small town rural deployments were the beginning of the wave, but the tide is now embracing large urban metropolises. New York, San Francisco, Rome and Paris are among the major cities planning wide-scale deployments. While these networks present yet another new competitive threat to the broadband market landscape, there are opportunities to be grasped for service providers, whether fixed-line or wireless, if these companies play their cards right. Major vendors, such as Motorola, Cisco, HP and IBM are already reaping cumulative contract awards running into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Generally speaking, we believe resistance towards Muni networks is futile. Finer points of the debate aside, it is fast becoming a city or state government duty to provide at least the means for widespread broadband service to the citizenry. By 2010/2011, we believe the majority of cities and townships in the US will have a municipal wireless network in place and the focus then will be in uniting them into a seamless, if not centralised, national network.

New and emerging applications such as digital libraries, virtual laboratories, distance-independent learning and tele-immersion will require broadband speeds and reverse the digital divide. In addition, applications such as LBS and gaming over city-wide networks could seriously threaten existing carrier business models

For a large number of reasons, municipalities are considering the concept of a Municipal Broadband Network as the fifth utility. These communities are choosing between deploying fibre and a wireless broadband network using Wi-Fi hotspots, mesh networks or pre-WiMAX technology. There will be a significant build-out, blending technologies and building on existing service, both wired and unwired.

However, many technological and business factors need to be considered, any one of which can better or worsen the outcome for any given municipality. Often, cities lack sufficient experience and knowledge of technologies to make the best choices and compound the problem further by inadequately funding the effort or by employing a business model that can not sustain the endeavor.. Municipal Broadband Networks: Market impact and implications, 2006-2011 Publ 20060126