For those manufacturers waiting for the price of RFID readers to decrease there might be some good news. In a study out Dec. 7 by ABI Research, a Oyster Bay, N.Y. -based research company, predicts that in late 2006 or early 2007 prices will fall with the availability of integrated chipsets. Reader designers believe this development will encourage semiconductor vendors to incur the necessary large investments in manufacturing plants.
As RFID moves from small-scale trials to full-scale deployment, increased reader production volumes should cause prices drop, according to the study, "The Market for RFID Readers."
"At this point," says Sara Shah, ABI Research analyst "everybody agrees: 'volume is coming' but nobody knows when, so they don't want to move prematurely. Will first-movers have an advantage? Yes, but as prices fall, it may be short-lived."
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