IEEE 1394 interface heads for slow decline.
The IEEE 1394 interface, also called FireWire or i.Link, is facing a slow lingering death as its market share stagnates, experts warned today.
Analyst firm In-Stat said that the peak year for IEEE 1394 devices is expected to be 2008, at which point the technology will suffer "major challenges" and a slow decline that will set in during 2009.
The interface is a high-speed serial bus specification found primarily in PCs, PC peripherals and consumer electronics.
"IEEE 1394 suffers from being the second-choice technology in many product segments," said In-Stat analyst Brian O'Rourke.
"For example, IEEE 1394's historic one-third penetration of the PC market is now dwarfed by high-speed USB's 100 per cent. This has helped high-speed USB become the interface of choice for PC peripherals."
Recent In-Stat research suggests that IEEE 1394-enabled device shipments will grow by only 0.2 per cent annually through 2011.
IEEE 1394's use in digital camcorders, for example, fell from 85 per cent in 2005 to 77 per cent in 2006.