Netgear 2011 Annual Report Download - page 8

Table of Contents
We design our products to meet the specific needs of the consumer, business and service provider markets, tailoring various elements of
the product design, including component specification, physical characteristics such as casing, design and coloration, and specific user interface
features to meet the needs of these markets. We also leverage many of our technological developments, high volume manufacturing, technical
support and engineering infrastructure across our markets to maximize business efficiencies.
Our products that target the business market are generally designed with an industrial appearance, including metal cases and, for some
product categories, the ability to mount the product within standard data networking racks. These products typically include higher port counts,
higher data transfer rates and other performance characteristics designed to meet the needs of a commercial business user. For example, we offer
data transfer rates up to ten Gigabits per second for our business products to meet the higher capacity requirements of business users. Some of
these products are also designed to support transmission modes such as fiber optic cabling, which is common in more sophisticated business
environments. Security requirements within our products for commercial business broadband access include firewall, virtual private network and
content threat management capabilities that allow for secure interactions between remote offices and business headquarter locations over the
Internet. Our connectivity product offerings for the commercial business market include enhanced security and remote configurability often
required in a business setting. Our ReadyNAS family of network attached storage products implements redundant array of independent disks
data protection, enabling businesses to store and protect critical data easily, efficiently and intelligently.
Our products for the consumer and service provider markets are generally designed with pleasing visual and physical aesthetics that are
more desirable in a home environment. Our connectivity offerings for the consumer market are generally at a lower price than higher security
and configurability wireless offerings for the business market. Our products for facilitating broadband access in the home are available with
features such as parental control capabilities and firewall security, to allow for safer, more controlled Internet usage in families with children.
Our broadband products designed for the home market also contain installation software that guides a less sophisticated user through the
installation process with their broadband service provider, using a graphical user interface and simple point and click operations. Our
connectivity product offerings for the consumer market include powerline and MoCA data transmission modes, which allow home users to take
advantage of their existing electrical or coaxial wiring infrastructure for transmitting data among network components.
Our vision for the home network has always been about having all devices connected to the Internet at all times. Recently, our focus has
been to continue to introduce new products into what we believe are five new growth areas: First, TV connectivity products such as our new
Push2TV HD edition announced jointly with Intel at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show; Second, network attached storage
products with enhanced user interfaces, higher capacity and resilience; Third, security appliances that support more users; Fourth, DOCSIS 3.0
gateways with more integrated functions; and Fifth, the 4G/Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) related repeaters and routers. We continue to
announce and introduce new products in these significant growth markets.
Competition
The consumer, business and service provider markets are intensely competitive and subject to rapid technological change. We expect
competition to continue to intensify. Our principal competitors include:
4
•
media adapters, which connect non PC entertainment devices such as TVs, audio players, and game consoles to a network;
•
powerline adapters and bridges, which enable devices to be connected to the network over existing electrical wiring; and
•
Multimedia over Coax Alliance standard (
“
MoCA
”
)
adapters and bridges, which enable devices to be connected to the network over
existing coaxial wiring.
•
within the consumer markets, companies such as Apple, Belkin, D
-
Link, the Linksys division of Cisco Systems, Roku and Western
Digital; and
®