Motorola turns to consumer electronics
Motorola is turning to the consumer electronics market as it looks to expand its troubled wireless business in new directions.
On Tuesday morning, the company will announce plans to sell wireless broadband modules that device makers can use to put into consumer electronics products or monitoring devices to provide broadband wireless connectivity. Specifically, Motorola is putting its homegrown wireless technology into embedded modules so that laptops, Netbooks, digital cameras, and other devices can connect to the Internet using 3G HSPA networks, as well as 4G wireless networks using WiMax and LTE technologies.
Motorola’s entree into this market is significant because it marks the first time the iconic cell phone maker has sold its wireless technology to other device manufacturers. Up to this point, Motorola has kept its wireless technology for its own products.
Indeed, this could be a big opportunity for Motorola and any company looking to embed wireless broadband technology into consumer electronics devices, such a laptops, Netbooks, digital cameras gaming devices, and other devices.
By 2014, market research firm Strategy Analytics predicts, there will be 100 million devices with 3G and 4G technology embedded in them. Initially, this market will be dominated by laptops and Netbook computers. By the end of 2009, more than half of the 8.4 million consumer electronics devices installed and enabled for 3G and 4G will be notebook computers, Strategy Analytics predicts. And the firm believes that the entire market of 3G and 4G enabled products will nearly double to 16.6 million in 2014
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