WI-FI DIRECT-ENABLED DIGITAL TELEVISIONS will number almost 80 million by 2015, according to a new report from In-Stat.
Wi-Fi Direct is a software layer that sits on top of Wi-Fi silicon and makes Wi-Fi a much more formidable offering by adding peer-to-peer capability to Wi-Fi’s networking capability. This allows two Wi-Fi Direct devices to transmit data, images, and video without the need for a Wi-Fi access point.
The first applications to adopt Wi-Fi Direct include mobile PCs, digital televisions (DTVs), and mobile phones, the respective centers of the PC, consumer electronics (CE) and mobile device clusters. According to Wi-Fi Direct: It’s All About the Software, wireless display of images and video is a major aim of Wi-Fi Direct, meaning the main display in most homes will be a key target.
In-Stat research director Brian O’Rourke says that Wi-Fi Direct will have only a small impact on increasing the penetration of Wi-Fi.
“Wi-Fi is already doing very well, with increasing penetration rates throughout PCs, PC peripherals, CE devices, and mobile phones”, O’Rourke said in the report’s press release. “As a peer-to-peer networking technology, Wi-Fi Direct may be the most help in CE, where Wi-Fi’s impact has been more modest than in the PC world. It is in the CE market, particularly portable CE devices, where Wi-Fi Direct may have the most added value.”
Other details from the report include:
– Mobile PCs will adopt Wi-Fi Direct more quickly than any other application;
– Every PC, CE device and mobile phone that ships in 2014 with Wi-Fi silicon will be Wi-Fi Direct-enabled; and
– Wi-Fi Direct-enabled device shipments will reach 173 million in 2011.
