Nearly 250,000 handheld RFID reader units were shipped in 2006, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all reader units shipped.

"The handheld reader market exploded last year," Louis Bianchin, Senior RFID Analyst at Venture Development Corp. (VDC) said. "We saw an increase in handheld unit shipments (as compared to 2005) of nearly 385% and are expecting growth rates in excess of 30% annually over the next 5 years."

The global market for RFID readers exceeded $430 million in 2006 and is anticipated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23 percent through 2011. Although stationary readers represented nearly 2/3 of all reader revenues, the highest growth rates are expected from the handheld and module form factors. Primary trends driving this shift in demand include:
An increasing requirement for smaller footprint devices - in all form factors;
Enhanced device functionality (integrated bar code scanning, embedded middleware, compatibility with legacy infrastructure, etc.);
Better basic interrogation performance (ruggedization, read/write rate, power, etc.); and
Lower pricing (expected less than $350/unit by 2011).

The vast majority of handheld RFID readers deployed support HF or EPC UHFfrequencies. These systems are operating in a wide range of applications in supply chain management and transportation management systems.

A significant portion of handheld reader revenues in 2006 came from expanding pilot studies, small scale deployments, or larger RFID rollouts where integration into existing AIDC infrastructure was a core requirement.

Examples of larger handheld RFID reader installations from 2006 include Carrefour, SNCF, and the Saudi Post Service.

The report is $5,100 and is available at www.vdc-corp.com/ Purchase.asp?viewtype=detail&pagesection=aidc&id=2058. ENS