Wi-Fi could not be more cutting-edge technology, but the iPhones, netbooks and other portable devices, set it in many more hands of consumers this year, according to data released on Thursday, Wi-Fi Alliance and research company In-Stat.

Once associated primarily with laptops, Wi-Fi is now built into many mobile phones, cameras and game consoles, and even some TVs. This allows users to share data around the home and with friends on the Internet, as well as to increase data speeds of smartphones in certain locations.

In general, the supply of Wi-Fi chipsets grew by 26 percent to 387 million in 2008, according to In-STAT and the Alliance, industry groups. One reason, Wi-Fi comes in so many products is that chipmakers are its integration with other types of networks in a single chipset, said to-Stat analyst Norm Bogen. Instead of beating out other species, such as WiMax or 3G (third generation) mobile data, Wi-Fi is now with them. For example, Qualcomm in snapdragon chipset for mini-notebooks include Wi-Fi with 3G, Bluetooth, broadcast television and GPS (Global Positioning System) function.

Deliveries of Wi-Fi chips in a dual mode mobile phones rose 52 percent in 2008 to 56 million units, B-Stat and the Alliance said. Apple iPhone, which was introduced in 2007 in the U.S. and expanded in more than 70 countries in 2008, which helped drive the growth in supply over 10 million units. It also helped set the tone for the industry, making Wi-Fi capabilities standard feature phones, the Research In Motion BlackBerry models, as well as T-Mobile G1 Android phone. On Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, T-Mobile USA introduced the Shadow smartphone, dual mode device, which can be used for making calls from Wi-Fi access points.

Wi-Fi also grown rapidly in stationary devices, consumer electronics, such as printers, gaming consoles, set top boxes and digital TVs. The number of Wi-Fi chips shipped in those products rose 51 percent to 48 million units. Consumers also bought more equipment, which gave them a Wi-Fi connectivity on the run, such as cameras, portable music players and portable gaming units, such as the popular Nintendo DS. Shipments in this category grew 33 percent in 2008 to 71 million units. In 2009, all the portable gaming device will have Wi-Fi, according to In-Stat.

Wi-Fi penetration in the notebook market grew more slowly, at only 23 per cent, although with a broader base. There were 144 million Wi-Fi chips used in laptop computers in 2008, as laptops, mini-laptops, ultramobile devices (UMDs) and mobile Internet devices (MIDs). Alphabetic soup small portable options, including emerging netbook category, will help drive a 12 percent increase in the PC arena in the year. Almost all netbooks will have Wi-Fi, while many of them also have 3G, Bogen said.

Most computers become the latest Wi-Fi technology, according to In-STAT and the Alliance. They said more than half of all mobile PCs shipped in 2008 were equipped with the 802.11n draft 2.0 equipment. Alliance began certifying products using this interim standard, which can support speeds above 100Mb per second, in June 2007.

Home networks and smart phones will be significant drivers of Wi-Fi growth in 2009, according to In-STAT and the Wi-Fi Alliance. Deliveries of Wi-Fi-smartphones allows must grow twice as fast than for smartphones in general, they said.

Several online growing trend, because many consumers want the choice of connectivity, as well as additional costs to add Wi-Fi is a minor, according to In-Stat in Bogen. There are several users of laptops and other Wi-Fi devices that do not mind searching out hot spots, and in some cases paying to use it, but for a relatively smooth access to the Internet, cellular data is needed, with Wi-Fi to increase the speed at certain points, he said.

Current silicon development to attract even more benefits to Wi-Fi device users, Bogen said: smaller, more integrated and more efficient chipsets are draining less battery, and that will only be better in the course of this year, he said.