Hard-disk sales to remain strong through 2010, despite competing technologies
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The hard disk drive will be a key component in more and more consumer electronics products through the rest of the decade, reports market researcher In-Stat in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Hard-disk-drive worldwide shipments will increase from 380 million in 2005 to 748 million in 2010, with the consumer electronic segment continuing to be one of the fastest growing applications for hard disk drives, the high-tech market research firm says.
“While hard drives have become small enough to embed in most portable consumer electronics devices, competitive storage solutions, such as increasing Flash capacities, continue to threaten this market,” says Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst.
“However, at multigigabyte capacities, Flash becomes cost-prohibitive. Hard disk drives will more effectively address portable multimedia devices that offer a wide range of capabilities requiring higher storage capacities,” she says.
In-Stat finds that by 2010, approximately 38 percent of all hard disk drives shipped worldwide will go into consumer electronics devices. Furthermore, video-capable MP3 players and portable media players will drive continued demand for small-form-factor hard disk drives.
The personal video-recorder market, In-Stat says is the largest consumer electronics application for hard disk drives today.
The research, “Hard Disk Drives in Consumer Electronics: Demand Remains Strong for Small Form Factor HDDs” (IN0602967MI), covers the worldwide market for hard disk drives. It focuses on how the consumer electronics product segment has become an important segment for hard-disk-drive manufacturers, despite advancements in flash-memory storage capacities.
It includes forecasts of hard-disk- drive unit shipments and revenue through 2010, segmented by a few major product categories. It contains profiles of major hard-disk-drive manufacturers and discusses market trends of consumer electronics products.
For more information on this research or to purchase it online, visit: email.in-stat.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/ezwp0HWFGD0K560Dhb60Ew.
This research is part of In-Stat’s Multimedia & Interface Technologies Service, which identifies and forecasts key interface technologies and multimedia semiconductors. It examines competitors, industry agendas, market shares, technology platforms, semiconductor technology and shipments. Technology penetration within myriad end equipment markets is explored. Supply- and demand-side insights are combined to examine these dynamic, evolving technologies.
Related In-Stat research reveals that hard disk drives (hard disk drive) may face legitimate competition in the mobile computer mass-storage market as flash-based solid-state drives (SSD) stand ready in the wings.
In fact, SSDs have the potential to dethrone the hard disk drive as the top laptop storage choice within 10 years, leading In-Stat to believe that the SSD market share in mobile computers could reach 50 percent by 2013. The research, “Flash-Based SSDs in Mobile Computing: Contender or Pretender?” (IN0603343SI), covers the worldwide market for solid state drives (SSD) in mobile computers.
It includes optimistic, expected, and pessimistic forecasts for unit sales in the mobile PC market through 2010. The forecasts draw from primary data collected in April 2006 that established early adopters’ attitudinal response to SSD in mobile computers and their internal valuations. It also contains an overview of the technology and a discussion of SSD’s core benefits in mobile PCs.
For more information contact In-Stat online at www.instat.com.
