FireWire, the computer, consumer electronics and industrial systems interface, reached the two billion ports milestone in 2010 and will continue its steady growth worldwide throughout 2011, the 1394 Trade Association (http://www.1394ta.org), of which Apple is a member.

The two billion FireWire ports shipped provide more than 1.2 billion consumer and computer products with reliable, versatile high-speed connections available from developers of FireWire silicon including Texas Instruments, LSI, and PLX Technology, among others, according to Max Bassler, chairman of the 1394 Trade Association. FireWire continues to be applied in a wide range of PCs, storage systems, new generations of set top boxes, industrial and factory automation equipment, and professional audio system, he adds.

The 1394 Trade Association estimates the total of 1394-equipped devices will increase again in 2011. The group foresees continued expansion into higher speed computing, storage and consumer electronics products, with steady growth of 1394-enabled products in the industrial cameras and instrumentation segments, where FireWire is established as the interface of choice. Also, innovative and exciting work being completed by Dap Technology with S1600 and S3200 speeds is leading to new market opportunities, says Bassler. In addition, the 1394 standard is moving forward in automotive networking applications.

"The two billion ports represents a significant new milestone for 1394,” says Bassler. “Just as impressive is the innovative and creative application of FireWire in new generations of advanced industrial automation, vision systems, and production equipment. FireWire will continue its steady, stable growth during 2011, as we migrate to the first products operating at 1.6 Gigabit/second bandwidth -- and as 1394 proves itself superior to competitive interfaces in a variety of sectors.” 

He adds that there is now a new generation of set top boxes with FireWire, providing data transfer speeds of 800 Megabit/second.