Internet TV, Web Devices Will Boom By 2002, Study Says
Sales of Internet-connected TVs and hand-held computers will boom in the next four years as consumers snap up low-cost devices that let them check weather and e-mail, according to an International Data Corp. study.
The number of Internet-connected devices in use, excluding personal
computers, will rise tenfold to 55.7 million units in 2002 from 5.9 million units this year, said Sean Kaldor, head of consumer-devices research at IDC, a market-research company focused on technology issues.
Microsoft Corp. and America Online Inc. each have bought Internet-TV
companies in a bet that consumers will want to browse the Web from their couches and chat with friends while watching the Super Bowl. That will become more common by 2002, when 7.8 million Internet-TV devices will be activated, up from 780,000 this year, the study found.
"We're right on the edge of mass-market deployment'' for Internet devices, Kaldor said.
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Source: Bloomburg News |
