How to Internet-Connect your low cost consumer retail embedded design

Harshy Wanigasekara, Arrayent, Inc.
9/13/2010 6:52 PM EDT

Technology forecasters have been predicting that the Internet of Things—the technologies around connecting everyday things to the Internet—will be the foundation of the next major networking wave. The volumes being discussed are huge -- 10x to 100X that of mobile phone shipments per year.

The important question to consider is what application will drive that huge adoption? Desktop (laser printer) publishing drove the early Ethernet market. Wi-Fi volume took off when Intel put an 802.11 chip into its laptop reference design. Mobile phone volumes increased exponentially when the handsets became affordable.

Clever smartphones and tablet applications, which connect to low cost products, will likely drive the Internet of Things from the hobbyist market to the mainstream market. Smartphones already enable consumers to connect to anyone and search for anything--anywhere, anytime.

It is only a matter of time before smartphone and tablet owners realize they have a true universal remote control in their pocket. Then, they will want to monitor and control their “things” from anywhere, at anytime. Life style change is in the wind: Informa Telecoms & Media reported that in 2008, vendors shipped more smartphones than netbooks. These trends are setting the stage for the Internet of Things to take off.

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