Tuesday, 26 February 2008

After USB, 1394 is Next Most Popular PC Interface

The proliferation of digital interfaces on PCs in the past 10 years has led to specialization, as well as an increasing number of choices for consumers, reports In-Stat.

According to a recent study done by the high-tech market research firm, USB has become a universal interface in the PC market, and 1394 or FireWire, DVI, and Bluetooth are all available in a large number of notebook and desktop PCs on the market today.

The research, titled "Interface Survey 2008: Tracking Interface Usage On Work and Home PCs" was reported based on a survey conducted with 2,200 technology early adopters about the interfaces they have on both their work and home PCs, and to what they connect with these interfaces.

"Not surprisingly, USB is the most popular interface, and is connected to the greatest number of devices in both work and home environments," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst.

"1394 proved to be the next most popular interface, in terms of its presence on both work and home PCs. However, in percentage terms, it was one of the least used interfaces in both environments."

The study also revealed that:

- Those not using their 1394 ports comprised 55% of work PC users, and 40% of home PC users.

- 34% of respondents are at least somewhat familiar with ultrawideband, while 44% are at least somewhat familiar with wireless USB.

- 56% of those with Bluetooth phones connect their PCs to a Bluetooth headset.