DetailsMUSIC SERVER MARKET CUED FOR FIVE YEARS OF GROWTHABI Research released a study predicting a shift in the digital music server market from desktop PCs to dedicated music servers. Revenue for dedicated music server hardware, including embedded-Windows products, is expected to grow to $3.2 billion by year-end 2012, says ABI.
DetailsGPS IN ALL MOBILE DEVICES BY 2013?Advances in GPS chipset development will allow integration of GPS in every mobile device within five years, claims a newly released report. Low cost, GPS modernization, and new Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) will expand the market to 900 million units by 2013, ABI Research forecasts.
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MARCH
ANALYST SMASHES INTEL'S ATOMPredictions that Intels Atom processor will defeat ARM in the embedded market are premature, writes an analyst in
EETimes. Atom may prove to be a little faster, writes Kenton Williston, but ARM chips are cheaper, more power efficient, smaller and theyre here now.
DetailsUWB READY FOR BLAST-OFF AT LAST?After overestimating the early market for ultra-wideband (UWB) in 2006, ABI Research now says the short-range wireless networking technology is finally ready for take-off. Shipments of UWB in laptops, periphals, consumer electronics devices, and eventually mobile handsets will reach 400 million by 2013, forecasts ABI.
DetailsWINDOWS CE SURFS TELEMATICS WAVEIn five years, 30 million cars, or 44 percent of the global total, will ship with telematics devices such as navigation computers, safety systems, and "infotainment" systems, a study claims. The ABI Research report also forecasts a vibrant outlook for after-market telematics devices, where Windows CE has seen substantial success.
DetailsA THIRD OF ALL PHONES "SMART" IN FIVE YEARSThe market for smartphones will grow from around 10 percent of total handset sales in 2007 to 31 percent in 2013, a new study says. Hailing the "growing stature" of Windows Mobile, ABI Research adds that future phones will boast such luxuries as touchpads, tilt/shock sensors, and tactile feedback.
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APRIL
WIRELESS SURVEY COUNTS 255 MILLION USERSA survey released in conjunction with the CTIA Wireless 2008 show claims there are 255 million wireless users in the U.S., representing an increase of over 22 million from the year before. The study also said that in the last six months of 2007, wireless service revenues reached $71 billion.
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JUNE
WINDOWS MOBILE TIPPED AS MID OSWindows Mobile could see use in MIDs (mobile Internet devices), suggests a report from Forward Concepts. The report, aimed at quantifying MID-related opportunities for chip makers, identifies TI and Qualcomm as well-positioned in an emergent market expected to reach 40 million unit shipments globally within four years.
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JULY
WINDOWS MOBILE TROUNCED 2.5G IPHONE?Some 4.5 million Windows Mobile phones shipped during the year's first quarter, up 1.8 million year-over-year, according to IDG figures cited by Microsoft's top Windows Mobile executive, Andy Lees. Apple, meanwhile, sold only 1.7 million iPhones according to IDG's figures for the same quarter, Lees claimed.
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AUGUST
HIGH-END PHONE MARKET DEFIES ECONOMIC WOESMobile phone shipments from top-tier handset vendors grew 15 to 22 percent year-over-year, to 301 million units, according to ABI Research. The figures put the market on pace for 1.8 billion units this year, or 13 percent growth, despite general economic "woes" in other markets.
DetailsMINI-NOTEBOOK SHIPMENTS UP SHARPLYA Gartner study estimates 5.2 million mini-notebooks will ship this year, rising to 8 million units in 2009. The Gartner study pegs Windows XP and Linux as the two dominant operating systems (OSes) in the segment, which could hit 50 million shipments annually by 2012.
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OCTOBER
LINUX TO DOMINATE MIDS?Intel CEO Paul Otellini reportedly told the Associated Press that Linux will dominate sales of mobile Internet devices (MIDs). Meanwhile, ABI Research predicts that by 2013, Windows will be outsold by Linux two to one in the combined market for MIDs, netbooks, and UMPCs.
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NOVEMBER
LIVING ROOM SNARED IN WORLD WIDE WEBThe number of digital TVs, gaming consoles, and set-top boxes equipped with embedded web browsers will grow from 60 million in 2008 to 214 million by 2013, forecasts ABI. The research firm lists the open source Webkit rendering engine and CEA-2014 UI standard among key emerging technologies shaping the market.
DetailsWINDOWS SMARTPHONE SHIPMENTS UP 42.9%Symbian was the only major operating system to lose share over the last year in a smartphone market that grew 28 percent, says a Canalys study. Other findings include big gains for Apple and RIM, and a 42.9 percent increase in sales of Windows Mobile smartphones.
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DECEMBER
ACER LEADS HOT NETBOOK MARKETThe netbook category grew at a quarter-to-quarter rate of more than 160 percent in the third quarter, and Acer bypassed Asus as the top vendor, says a DisplaySearch study. Meanwhile, an ABI Research "Vendor Matrix" report finds Intel holding pole position among netbook processor vendors, while Windows XP tops netbook OS shipments.
DetailsWINDOWS MOBILE STEADY DESPITE RECESSIONThe recession is hindering smartphone sales, says Gartner, reporting the segment's weakest year-on-year growth since its studies began. Still, overall sales totaled 36.5 million in 3Q 2008 up 11.5 percent from 3Q 2007 and Windows Mobile gained over four percent compared to 2Q 2008.
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