Internet tellies will beat 3D ones in 2010

INDUSTRY ANALYTICS FIRM Isuppli believes that this will be the year of the Internet-enabled television, as opposed to 3D tellies.

This might be bad news for any companies that are readying mass-market three-dimensional televisions, but will be pleasing to anyone who has recently bought an Internet model and was worried that soon the Jones' would be less bothered about keeping up with them and more concerned about stopping them from coming over to watch Toy Story 3 on DVD.

Isuppli said that television sets with built-in Internet capabilities will ship to the tune of 27.7 million units, while just 4.2 million 3D televisions will hobble out of showrooms as bug-eyed early adopters look to use up their supply of Anadin.

"Despite aggressive promotions from the industry and intense consumer interest generated by the blockbuster Avatar and other titles, the 3D TV market in 2010 will be limited to a small pool of enthusiastic early adopters," said Riddhi Patel, director and principal analyst for television systems at Isuppli.

"In contrast, IETV is entering the mainstream in 2010. This is because 3-D is still dealing with a number of barriers, including cost, content availability and interoperability, while IETV provides immediate benefits by allowing TV viewers to access a range of content readily available on the Internet."

North America and Europe will be the biggest consumers of Internet televisions over the next few years, according to Patel, who added that Japan will follow at a close third.

By 2014 Isuppli reckons that there will be 148.3 million units shipped globally. This, predictably enough, will have an impact on the semiconductor industry, which Isuppli said will benefit considerably.

Semiconductor sales revenue will rise to more than $2 billion by 2014, up from just $222 million in 2009, the firm predicted.

"The arrival of Internet-enabled TV models is part of the ongoing evolution and enhancement of TV sets," Patel said. "Because innovation is a must in order to drive consumer adoption and replacement, the TV industry has embarked on a path of enhancing the consumer experience through interaction with their TV sets."

If only the media firms and television content producers follow suit. µ