USB-Enabled Product Shipments Will Double by 2010

In-Stat: USB-enabled electronics device annual shipments will double from 1.4 billion in 2005 to 2.8 billion in 2010. Included in this forecast are products in the PC, PC peripheral, Consumer Electronics (CE) and Communications segments, with several USB types serving applications in these segments, including low-, full-, and high-speed USB, as well as the newest entrant, Wireless USB (WUSB). Targets of WUSB backers are USB cables on the PC desktop, as well as temporary connections between mobile and fixed devices, such as portable digital audio players and PCs, or digital still cameras and printers. Two flavors of Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio, Direct Sequence (DS) and the WiMedia Alliance version, based on Multiband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM) technology, are competing in the WUSB space.

• Currently, the primary issue for many peripherals is the transition from full-speed to high-speed USB.

• WUSB will debut in the PC market in 2006 via hub and dongle solutions that will connect to PCs, and will be marketed by companies such as Belkin and Gefen.

• The CE segment saw significantly increased penetration of USB in 2005 in digital televisions, set top boxes and DVD recorders.

USB 2006: Here Comes Wireless

Publ 20060424