June 15, 2007

Early Adopters Want Wi-Fi Cell Phones

Most cell phones purchased today are traditional cellular network only cell phones. However, early adopter technology users want their next cell phone to come with WiFi connectivity as well.

With WiFi connectivity on cell phones, when there is no reception on the cellular network, or as you choose, you can use a WiFi network. Not only will you get reception in buildings but you'll also save money/minutes.

An In-Stat press release reads - "In the years ahead, dual-mode VoIP-capable phone systems will have increasing competition from other technologies, like femtocells for cellular coverage, but widespread Wi-Fi deployment and the variety of Wi-Fi/cellular handsets offers Wi-Fi/Cellular based systems a significant head-start in the market," says Allen Nogee, In-Stat Principal Analyst. "Other technologies, such as WiMAX and Ultra Wideband, are also poised to enter the handset market, but Wi-Fi fills a unique niche that WiMAX and UWB cannot match."

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

- Phones supporting voice over Wi-Fi are limited in numbers today but will exceed 100 models by year end.

- VoIP will be big; the number of Wi-Fi/cellular phones shipped incorporating some form of SIP voice support is forecasted to exceed 50 million by 2011.

- Many of the issues with early Wi-Fi/Cellular handsets, such as limited battery life, will be resolved in models released during 2007.

You can read more about In-Stat's research on this here

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