Analysts dubbed dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets as the “breakout market segment” in 2007. The devices are seen to grab 20 percent of the total chipset market in two years. Wi-Fi for voice, according to In-Stat analyst Gemma Tedesco, is also gaining momentum this year as a result of T-Mobile’s deployment of fixed-mobile convergence in the U.S. Another segment making waves is the portable media player market, with rising sales of Microsoft’s Zune and the scheduled market release of WiFi-enabled iPod from Apple in the second half of the year. The Wi-Fi chipset market, on the whole, is growing. In 2006, vendors shipped 213 million Wi-Fi chipsets, up by 32 percent from 2005.
Via [vnunet.com]
With 3G services (EvDO, UMTS, HSDPA) that is seamless and “everywhere” why a new push for wifi?