According to research from In-Stat a high-tech market research firm, "digital TV will be the second largest category of CE stationary devices shipping with Wi-Fi," says analyst Victoria Fodale. "The sheer volume of digital TV shipments will make it a strong market, despite a relatively low Wi-Fi attach rate." It will also spell the end for Ethernet in a lot of homes a move that will impact custom installers and electricians.

Because of its large installed base in mobile PCs and home networks, flexibility, and mature ecosystem, Wi-Fi is a valued, "Swiss army knife" technology for the consumer electronic market the research Company claims.

They also said that more than 294 million consumer electronics devices with Wi-Fi shipped in 2007. But that number is quickly growing and will likely reach 1 billion by 2012. The fastest-growing embedded Wi-Fi segment is mobile handsets. By 2011, dual-mode cell phones will surpass PCs as the largest category of Wi-Fi devices, the In-Stat report said.

Fodal said that several factors are driving adoption. Over the past few years, prices on Wi-Fi hardware have come way down. And the battery life for devices using Wi-Fi has improved dramatically, making it possible to embed Wi-Fi in handheld devices like cell phones. Today, many smartphones, like Apple's iPhone, come equipped with Wi-Fi.

ChannelNews has also been told that some TV vendors are already talking to Telstra and Foxtel about embedded TV content with Samsung Sony and Panasonic set to be among the first to deliver Wi Fi enabled TV's that link back to content services. 

 
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