As worldwide subscriptions to 3G networks exceed 100 million, industry association The UMTS Forum has confirmed that WCDMA is the world's most popular 3G technology by a factor that is fast approaching three to one.

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The 100 million subscriber milestone represents almost 75 million UMTS/WCDMA customers and more than 25 million CDMA2000 1x EV-DO customers.

In the first quarter of the year, WCMDA represented no less than 95% of total net subscriber additions (WCDMA+GSM) in Europe.

As of May 2006, there were more than 110 WCDMA networks operational in 48 countries. In addition there were 40 operators providing both EDGE and WCDMA coverage in 27 countries worldwide. Within Europe, 28 operators providing complementary EDGE/WCDMA coverage in 18 countries. The UMTS Forum predicts that global 3G/UMTS subscriptions will reach 100 million during the fourth quarter of this calendar year. Moreover, the second phase of 3G/UMTS is now progressing with more than 25 HSDPA networks deployed in May 2006 - enabling 3G customers to experience the full capabilities of mobile broadband.

Western Europe represents just over half of the world's total WCDMA subscribers. The region currently holds 50.4% of the global WCDMA subscriber base, with Asia Pacific contributing 47.8%. The remainder - less than 2% - is contributed by subscribers in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, USA/Canada and Africa.

Add a new portable, multimedia application to the ranks of growth opportunities for the semiconductor industry: Edutainment toys, says In-Stat. The opportunity includes LCDs, MCUs, Flash and various specialty devices. "The explosion in the edutainment toy segment is taking place as Moore's Law has enabled an impressive amount of processing power to be placed in the hands of vendors of consumer education devices," said Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst. According to the high-tech market research firm, the worldwide market for edutainment toys reached $1.7 billion in 2005, and this figure is projected to hit $5.5 billion by 2010. In-Stat believes that a typical edutainment product will have an overall BOM of approximately $60 in 2006. The lion's share of the BOM will be made up by LCDs, MCUs, Flash, and various specialty devices.

Worldwide PC shipments grew by a healthy 12.6% in the first quarter of 2006. Although PC shipment growth slowed from 15.1% in 2004 and 16% in 2005, the market continues to exceed expectations and the outlook for 2006 has improved, according to IDC.

The outlook for shipment growth in 2006 increased to 10.8% from a March projection of 10.5%. The outlook for 2007 was boosted nearly 1% to 11.7% and 2008 growth projections also increased slightly. Although growth rates for 2009 and 2010 were reduced slightly, total volumes remain higher than earlier projections because of the higher near-term growth. Total shipment volume is expected to reach 284.5 million in 2008 and 333.7 million in 2010 with a value of US$253.9 billion, and US$271.1 billion, respectively.

According to IDC, worldwide broadband subscriptions will nearly double in five years, expanding from a little more than 205 million in 2005 to nearly 400 million in 2010. DSL remains the leading installed broadband technology globally, accounting for 67% of subscriptions in 2010.