Shipments of consumer M2M devices with cellular connectivity are gathering pace and will hit 37.9 million units by 2016, research firm Berg Insight predicts.
The firm forecasts shipments of devices including e-readers and personal navigation devices (PNDs) will grow at a CAGR of 39.8% over the next five years, having already grown from 6.4 million units shipped in 2010 to 7.1 million in 2011. The increase will be fuelled by growing consumer awareness of the devices, declining silicon costs, and the rollout of greater numbers of LTE and other high-speed cellular technologies.
While e-readers and PNDs are leading the charge, Berg notes other categories of connected consumer M2M devices are also making headway. It points to handheld games consoles, tracking devices and those relating to healthcare as promising sectors.
“Cellular connectivity gives the freedom of being connected everywhere and there are already 12.7 million consumer M2M devices in use worldwide,” senior analyst Johan Svanberg states.