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Wireless USB printers harming Wi-Fi take-up

Wednesday 25 October, 2006

The impact of wireless USB printers is harming the integration of wireless internet in, or Wi-Fi, in consumer electronics (CE), according to the latest research.

In-Stat, a provider of market research and analysis, has said that while Wi-Fi offers notable networking benefits, it is still finding resistance in certain consumer electronics areas – such as printers and digital stills and video cameras – from wireless USB.

Gaming consoles and handheld games, which use Wi-Fi connects are rising and expected to continue to do so, according to the In-Stat research. The launch of the Sony Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii, which will have embedded Wi-Fi, are expected to fuel this rise.

According to the researchers, even when Wi-Fi is attached to just a few new products, as they are such high volume electronic products, Wi-Fi shipments increase dramatically.

"The beauty of Wi-Fi's adoption into high-volume CE categories is that even single-digit attach rates can translate into millions of Wi-Fi shipments," said In-Stat's Gemma Tedesco.

"For example, even with sub ten per cent attach rates expected for set top boxes and digital TVs in 2010, Wi-Fi-enabled shipments in these device segments are still expected to number in the millions."

It remains to be seen what ongoing impact wireless USB, seen on some HP printers, will have on the uptake of Wi-Fi.

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