A new report predicts that always-connected mobile Internet devices will see incredibly fast growth in popularity over the next five years.

Worldwide shipments of such devices will grow from 3.5 million this year to nearly 90 million in 2012, according to ABI Research.

"The key finding is there is going to be an avalanche of new products that don't fit existing categories," said Stan Schatt, vice president of ABI. "These devices will be centered round the notion of online all the time. Our research identified eight classes of consumer who will find MIDs interesting for very different reasons."

The eight classes include multimedia enthusiasts, Generation Y social networkers, younger gamers, soccer moms, lifestyle boomers, adventurers, frugal generalists and business application users.

The report said that current consumer electronics manufacturers will be leaders in this market since they have established retail channels.

The lifestyle boomers, Gen Y social networkers and multimedia enthusiasts will be the most eager adopters, each accounting for between 16 percent and 19 percent of the total uptake.

Disregarding the expected trend of cramming more and more functions into one box, mobile Internet device users will carry several dedicated devices. Some may even replace their smartphone with a simple, basic mobile phone, instead using a mobile Internet device for Internet access.

"We are going to have a very significant growth in devices that have access to the Web and that can be a venue for marketers to reach people in different ways," Mr. Schatt said.