| LinuxDevices year-end review: Top market research of 2007 |
(Dec. 31, 2007)
JANUARY
STANDARDS DOMINATE BURGEONING COMPUTER-ON-MODULE MARKET
The rapidly-growing market for "computer-on-module" (COM) embedded boards increasingly is dominated by several "major" open standard formats, embedded market analyst VDC reports. Open, standardized architectures such as ETX and COM Express are perceived as offering greater flexibility and capability than the proprietary formats that launched the COM market, VDC says. Details
FEBRUARY
MOBILE PHONES TO GET MORE TOUCHY, REPORT FINDS
Within five years, thirty-eight percent of mobile phones will incorporate "control surfaces" such as touchscreens and touchpanels, according to ARCchart. The wireless research and consulting firm expects control surfaces to increasingly replace buttons and scrollwheels, in part because they replace mechanical parts and simplify assembly. Details
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS MARKET TO REACH $6 BILLION BY 2010
The market for outsourced standard or customized "embedded integrated computer systems" (EICS) will grow 64 percent from 2005 to 2010, to nearly $6 billion, fueled by standards like AdvancedTCA, VME, and CompactPCI, VDC forecasts. The finding comes from VDC's latest analysis of EICS shipments in six vertical markets. Details
MARCH
CONVERGED MOBILE DEVICE MARKET GREW ROBUSTLY IN 2006
The worldwide market for "converged mobile devices" topped 80 million units in 2006, up an impressive 42 percent over 2005 shipments, according to a new study from IDC. In the fourth quarter, vendors shipped a total of 23.5 million devices, 33.5 percent more than the same quarter a year ago. Details
MOBILE PHONE SHIPMENTS NEARED 1 BILLION IN 2006
Record U.S. sales and exploding ultra-low-cost markets in India helped worldwide mobile phone shipments to end users grow 21 percent, to reach 990.8 million in 2006, according to Gartner. Additionally, sales to distributors surpassed a billion units for the year, as Asian distributors prepared for New Year's demand. Details
EMBEDDED LINUX VENDORS FACE MARKET CHALLENGES
Commercial Linux OS and tools vendors are being challenged by increasingly sophisticated competition from purely open-source software alternatives, according to Venture Development Corp. (VDC). A new report from VDC examines this and other challenges faced by companies such as MontaVista, Wind River, TimeSys, Sysgo, and many others. Details
LINUX PERCEIVED AS SYMBIAN'S TOP THREAT
Symbian's share of the smartphone market will drop from 73 percent in 2006 to 46 percent in 2012, largely due to strong competition from Linux, predicts ABI Research. Lower average selling prices (ASPs) make Linux's impact inevitable, as vendors look to cut software costs. Details
PC/104-PLUS CLOSING IN ON PC/104
PC/104-Plus CPU module shipments will grow steadily through the next three years, approaching those of PC/104 itself, according to Venture Development Corp. (VDC). The research firm also expects shipments of PCI-104 CPU modules to grow, albeit much more slowly than originally anticipated. Details
EMBEDDED MARKET RESEARCH REPORT CONSIDERS LABOR COSTS
Venture Development Corporation (VDC) has published a new market research report aimed at sizing total expenditures on embedded software development, including labor costs for software development and testing. The report also considers outsourcing and how globalization might limit market growth over time. Details
LINUX GRABS 30% OF CHINA'S FAST-GROWING SMARTPHONE MARKET
China consumed 15 million smartphones in 2006, up from 10 million units in 2005, resulting in more than doubling of smartphone revenues, according to Chinese market research firm CCID Consulting Company. Symbian controlled 63.2 percent of the market, followed by Linux (30.3 percent) and Windows Mobile (5.4 percent). Details
APRIL
200 MILLION LINUX PHONES TO SHIP BY 2012
Linux will ship in more than 200 million phones in 2012, up from 8.1 million in 2007, forecasts a new report from ABI. "The industry as a whole is rallying behind Linux," even while acknowledging that significant barriers to widespread Linux adoption still exist, the market research firm suggests. Details
REPORT EXAMINES LINUX'S POTENTIAL IN MOBILE PHONES
All tier one mobile phone manufacturers are "involved with Linux on some level," with openness, flexibility, and developer affinity rather than cost driving interest, IMS Research reports. Additionally, the high variability of separate vendors' implementations will not impede Linux adoption over the long term, according to the firm's latest research. Details
* * * SNAPSHOT OF THE EMBEDDED LINUX MARKET -- APRIL, 2007 * * *
The results of LinuxDevices.com's seventh annual Embedded Linux Market Survey are in! This brief summary outlines our interpretation of a few key data points. Overall, we find the results encouraging for embedded Linux, and for companies in the embedded Linux OS and tools market. Read our detailed report, packed with interesting and colorful charts. Details
DEVICE SOFTWARE MARKET GROWING, GLOBALIZING, CONSOLIDATING
Embedded is among several "hotspot" software development markets, along with open source, network security, digital content, and outsourcing, according to a new report from CCID Consulting. The market for device software is growing, becoming globalized, and developing specialized supply lines, the Hong Kong-based Chinese market research firm said. Details
MONTAVISTA ASSERTS MOBILE LINUX LEADERSHIP
MontaVista Software announced today that its commercial Linux OS has shipped in 35 million mobile devices, including 15 million last year. Additionally, it said it ranked fourth overall among mobile operating system providers in terms of revenue, according to figures compiled by Venture Development Corp. (VDC). Details
MAY
WIRELESS USB MAKING WAVES IN 2007
Standards-based wireless USB (WUSB) hubs and dongles will reach market by mid-year, with WUSB-enabled PCs, printers, cameras, and other peripherals arriving before 2008, according to In-Stat. The firm's annual report on the USB market suggests that combined, wired and wireless USB-enabled device shipments will grow at double-digit rates through 2011. Details
THIN CLIENTS SAVE ENERGY, SPARE CO2
Using thin clients instead of conventional PCs would lower energy consumption by 51 percent and reduce CO2 emissions, concludes a recent study by the Fraunhofer Institute. The study, whose results were announced today by Igel Technology, compared thin clients manufactured by Igel to conventional business PCs. Details
UNCONNECTED HANDHELDS FADE AWAY, DELL QUITS
Sales of unconnected handheld devices continue to plummet as users show increased interest in converged mobile devices and other consumer electronics products, according to the latest quarterly report from IDC. Underscoring the dismal market outlook, leading vendor Dell is exiting the market. Details
LINUX TO CHALLENGE SYMBIAN IN SMARTPHONES
Symbian will still lead the smartphone market in 2012, with 44 percent market share, while Linux swells to 41 percent and Windows Mobile languishes at just six percent, a new report from Berg Insight predicts. The report runs counter to several other recent analyst reports, however. Details
JUNE
REPORT QUESTIONS "MOBILE OFFICE" MARKET POTENTIAL
Shortly before Palm unveiled its "Foleo mobile companion", market research firm 451 Group released a report questioning the potential for "mobile office" devices such as smartphones. The Group estimates that only 20 million smartphones currently ship each year, with volume unlikely to grow much beyond that. Details
JULY
DEVELOPERS DITCHING WINDOWS, REPORT FINDS
Fewer North American programmers are writing software for Windows, according to Evans Data Corporation (EDC). The market research firm said that about 65 percent of developers targeted Windows client operating systems in 2006, down from 74 percent the year before, and likely to fall another couple of points this year. Details
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS VS. PLANET EARTH
Computers, television, and other consumer electronics will soak up nearly half of the electricity used in British homes by 2020, a recently released report says. According to the Energy Saving Trust (EST), this will overtake lighting and refrigeration, previously the largest domestic power drain. Details
BRIGHT FUTURE SEEN FOR NAND FLASH
More gigabytes of NAND-based storage will ship in 2007 than the sum-total of all DRAM shipped since 1970. This is one of many gems of wisdom found in newly-available online proceedings from Denali Software's recent conference on today's hottest memory and storage technologies, such as DDR DRAM and NAND flash. Details
BLUETOOTH, GPS TO BECOME UBIQUITOUS
In its financial report for the quarter ending June 29, 2007, CSR (formerly Cambridge Silicon Radio) forecast continued growth in the Bluetooth market, particularly in new non-cellular areas such as PMPs, gaming consoles, cars, and cameras. Interestingly, the company said it is readying a Bluetooth chip with built-in software-based GPS. Details
AUGUST
UMPC EXPECTED TO SPAWN FAMILY OF DEVICES
What we know as the "ultra-mobile PC" (UMPC) is going to be one of a whole family of "ultra-mobile devices" (UMDs), a new report claims. Market researcher In-Stat says "one ultra mobile device will not be able to meet all of the different usages and applications." Details
LINUX THE FASTEST-GROWING SMARTPHONE OS
Linux will power about 31 percent of all smartphones sold in 2012, and by then will have shipped in 331 million devices, says ABI. The research firm forecasts 75 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) for Linux in smartphones through 2012, making it the fastest-growing OS in the sector. Details
CELLULAR M2M SERVICE MARKET TO GROW, DIVERSIFY
Revenues from cellular machine-to-machine (M2M) services will quadruple, from approximately $2 billion in 2006 to more than $8 billion in 2012, a new report from ABI Research forecasts. The study also predicts increasing variety in the M2M market's business models. Details
SEPTEMBER
LINUX TO GROW 278% IN EMBEDDED APPS
Linux use in future embedded, mobile, and real-time projects will grow 278 percent over that in past projects, suggests a recent survey by Venture Development Corp. (VDC). Meanwhile, proprietary commercial embedded operating systems are holding steady, gaining customers from do-it-yourself OS users, but losing them just as fast to Linux, Details
4G WIRELESS? DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!
What will "4G" (fourth generation) wireless technology be? No one quite knows yet, and it will take three or four years to deploy, according to a new report by research firm In-Stat. Details
SOURCE RULES AMONG EMBEDDED DEVELOPERS
Access to source code is the "primary motivating factor" in Linux adoption among embedded systems developers, suggests Evans Data Corp. The research firm found that two-thirds of developers surveyed deem source access "very" or "extremely" important, while only five percent thought it "not" important. Details
EMBEDDED OS VENDORS THRIVE DESPITE LINUX
The overall market for embedded operating systems increased more than 20 percent in 2006, according to a new study of the global marketplace by Venture Development Corp. (VDC). However, operating system suppliers are under increasing pressure from Linux, the research firm says. Details
OPINION: MOBILE LINUX IS NOT ABOUT FREE SOFTWARE
This guest column posits six causes for Linux's meteoric rise in popularity among handset manufacturers. Author Andreas Constantinou, founder of a market research firm, discounts widely accepted truisms like customizability and developer preference for source code access, instead fingering pragmatic factors he says are unrelated to Linux's "free" qualities. Details
EMBEDDED LINUX'S GROWTH SLOWS, STUDY FINDS
The market for embedded Linux software, tools, and services grew significantly during 2006, surpassing the $100 million mark, reports Venture Development Corp. (VDC). However, growth has slowed since 2005, when the embedded Linux market reportedly grew a whopping 30 and 40 percent. Details
500 MILLION TOUCH-PHONES TO SHIP BY 2012
More than 100 million handsets with touch screens will be shipped in 2008, and more than 500 million will ship by 2012, according to a new study by ABI Research. Citing recent product introductions, the research firm says intuitive user interfaces are now becoming a critical ingredient in smartphones. Details
OCTOBER
LINUX TO REMAIN A LEADING EMBEDDED OS, SAYS ANALYST
A "significant portion" of development teams continue to use Linux as their primary embedded OS, a recent VDC survey finds. Additionally, the results suggest the trend will persist, "as the majority of current Linux users surveyed plan to use Linux again as their primary operating system on future [embedded] projects." Details
128 MILLION LINUX PHONES FORECAST FOR 2012
By 2012, Linux will ship annually in 128 million mobile phones, or about 8.8 percent of all handsets sold, forecasts Informa in a new research report. The report also forecasts a bright outlook for other open source mobile technologies, including Java, WebKit, and others. Details
NOVEMBER
REPORTS FORECAST GPS PROLIFERATION
Low-cost GPS chipsets will increasingly be integrated into mobile devices, according to reports just released by two major market research firms. While apparently disagreeing on the exact numbers, both ABI Research and In-Stat forecast extremely strong growth between now and 2011. Details
DECEMBER
CHINA SMARTPHONE SALES UP, BUT LINUX LOSES SHARE
In China, the world's largest mobile phone market, smartphone sales for Q3 grew 11.3 percent quarter-over-quarter, reports CCID Consulting. However, Linux's share of the market declined, largely due to weakening volumes for Motorola smartphones, the Hong Kong-based market research firm reported. Details
EMF CHANGES TUNE, HAILS EMBEDDED LINUX
Embedded Market Forecasters has issued a report claiming that embedded Linux is just as dependable as other real-time operating systems. The independently funded report appears to recant EMF's controversial Microsoft-funded report in 2003 that claimed that embedded Windows OSes were far faster and cheaper than embedded Linux. Details
Most Significant Stories for 2007
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