In-Stat: IEEE 1394 Interface Headed for Slow Decline
(Top News, 29 Jun 2007 )
IEEE 1394 faces major challenges, and its market share is stagnating, according to market research firm In-Stat. The peak year for 1394 devices is expected to be 2008, and a slow decline will set in beginning in 2009. IEEE 1394, also called FireWire or i.Link, is a high-speed serial bus specification found primarily in three markets: PCs, PC peripherals, and Consumer Electronics.
"1394 suffers from being the second-choice technology in many product segments," said Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst. "For example, 1394's historic one-third penetration of the PC market is now dwarfed by high-speed USB's 100 percent penetration. This has helped high-speed USB become the interface of choice for PC peripherals."
Recent research by In-Stat found the following: - 1394-enabled device shipments will grow by only 0.2 percent annually through 2011. - 1394 had created an ecosystem, with digital camcorders at the center, but there has been slippage in this ecosystem recently. - From 2005 to 2006, 1394 penetration of digital camcorders fell from 85 percent to 77 percent.
