MID Shipments to Rise Nearly Eightfold by 2012, Says iSuppli

According to iSuppli Corp, global unit shipments of mobile Internet devices (MID) are expected to expand by nearly a factor of eight from 2007 to 2012. Global MID shipments are set to rise to 416 million units in 2012, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50.6% from 53.8 million in 2007.
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The research firm defines MIDs as devices that have integrated connectivity for wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN) or 3G-or-higher worldwide wide area networks (WWAN). They also must have a maximum-sized display of 8-inches in the diagonal dimension, an instant-on function, an always-connectable capability and a full day's worth of battery life under typical usage scenarios.

"The market for MIDs does not just reside in one big multipurpose platform, but instead encompasses segments of various product markets, including UMPCs, netbooks, smart phones, portable navigation devices, e-book readers, portable media/MP3 players and handheld gaming devices," said Francis Sideco, senior analyst, wireless communications, for iSuppli.

Among the MID devices included in the forecast period from 2008 to 2012, smart phones are projected to dominate the segment. iSuppli estimates that about 60% of all smart phones now are considered MID-class devices, but that figure will rise to cover 100% by 2012. A key gating factor is the inclusion of WLAN or 3G connectivity, and applications like video downloads, gaming and full Internet browsing will proliferate when smart phones attain 3G-speed downlink and uplink capabilities.

Despite their relatively recent arrival on the scene, e-book readers already have achieved 35% MID penetration as of 2008, which will then rise to 76% by 2012. The high penetration primarily is driven by the success of Amazon's Kindle, with 100% WWAN penetration; and of Sony's counterpart, the Sony Reader, which has 25% WLAN penetration.

A mere 2% of all UMPCs were considered to be MID-class in 2008, but the figure is expected to grow to 28% by 2012. Key factors increasing MID penetration in this area include continued improvements to instant-on capabilities and battery-life performance.

For gaming devices, only 2.8% can be considered MID-class by 2011 if the full set of criteria is brought to bear, with the rate increasing markedly to 15.1% the year after. However, if the requirement for ubiquitous coverage is relaxed to cover only WLAN, then the percentage of gaming devices that can be considered MID-class shoots up to 98.6% in 2008, with the figure rising to 100% by 2011.

In the case of portable media players (PMP)/MP3 players, no significant volume shipments occurred as of 2008. Only 3% of the devices will be MID-class by 2012, but a potential upside to this market exists if manufacturers increase the amount of WWAN support for the players, which are capable of delivering rich multimedia content and experience.

Among portable navigation devices (PND), a mere 0.22% currently are MID-class-capable, with the number growing to 10% by 2012. The one criterion driving PNDs for MID functionality is the rate of wireless connectivity, primarily through WWAN. Once enabled, PNDs allow the implementation of solutions such as real-time traffic, rerouting, remote map and database updates, location-aware advertising and purchasing of services. PNDs are also unique among MID devices in that they have the automobile as a power source and are, therefore, not limited by battery-life constraints.

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Source：Nikkei Electronics Asia

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