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INDUSTRY TRENDS IN CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

By: Emma Packford-Garrett
Posted: 11th July 2013
Category: General Blog Posts

With the conversion from analog to digital, many new standards in audio and video have been introduced; vastly improving the affordability and quality of the digital multimedia experience. The proliferation of broadband and wireless has further enabled ease of access and it has become rewarding and easy for consumers to access fresh media.

Trends in the consumer electronic market have transpired from the improvement in quality and easy access accelerated by the fast moving digital revolution:

  • Media and Data Convergence – The once fixed line between the media-centric devices such as TVs and the more data-centric devices such as PC has become blurred. Consumers now demand both to be integrated with one device. The new trend for consumer devices is that they must be able to handle both within the same platform. The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and Hi-Def A-V Network Alliance (HANA) are key industry groups whose goal is to align manufacturers and ensure compatibility between home networking products.
  • Staying connected – consumers have a need to remain connected, whether being at home, work or travelling. Where once the laptop was used as a preferred method, the hand held devices have now taken place. The designers of the mobile devices are continually updating their technology to keep up with the end user's demand.

The consumer electronics market is in a phase of rapid evolution and the vast competitive pressure between manufactures to have their new product first-to-market is apparent. Staying ahead of the competition forces the consumer manufacturer to support emerging technologies by frequently enhancing products, thus reducing the consumer product life cycle.

For system designers, using PLDs (programmable logic devices) along with ASICs or ASSPs provides the differentiation and dexterity required to be competitive in the market. These new design methodologies offer low developmental costs whilst promoting rapid innovation and providing the flexibility required to counter-balance the effects of the ever decreasing product life cycle.