Shipments of "combo" chipsets for mobile devices that gather a variety of connectivity types in one small package are expected to approach 280 million worldwide by the end of 2010, according to a report by market research firm ABI Research.
The firm said that integration of different radio technologies such as FM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS on a single chip saves money, space and power, though it may sometimes involve performance compromises.
It forecasts that more than 979 million such chipsets will ship in 2015.
ABI Research research analyst Xavier Ortiz said that the market for combo chipsets is taking off, but somewhat more slowly than was originally expected.
"Mobile phones are the main market for these combinations today, although ABI Research believes that for true mass adoption, combos will have to penetrate other product types that require short-range wireless: laptops and consumer electronics devices," Ortiz said.
ABI Research said that it expects to see ‘Bluetooth+Bluetooth Low Energy’ combinations replacing "traditional" Bluetooth chips, since the added cost is insignificant.
More than two billion are expected to ship in 2015 and eventually Bluetooth/BLE combos will be universal in the Bluetooth segment, the company said.
