Global shipments of Internet-Enabled TVs (IETVs) will reach 27.7 million units in 2010, according to a report from iSuppli. In contrast, 3D set shipments will total only 4.2 million this year. Although 3D television shipments are set to soar in the coming years, said the iSuppli report, the biggest near-term growth story is in IETV.

“Despite aggressive promotions from the industry and intense consumer interest generated by the blockbuster Avatar and other titles, the 3D TV market in 2010 will be limited to a small pool of enthusiastic early adopters,” said Riddhi Patel, director and principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli. “In contrast, IETV is entering the mainstream in 2010. This is because 3D is still dealing with a number of barriers, including cost, content availability and interoperability, while IETV provides immediate benefits by allowing TV viewers to access a range of content readily available on the Internet.”

The company forecast that shipments of IETVs in 2010 will rise by 124.9 percent from 12.3 million units last year, with “significant growth” to continue in following years.  IETV shipments will expand at rates of more than 50 percent for the next two years, and then continue to increase at double-digit rates until the end of 2014. By then, global IETV shipments are anticipated to reach 148.3 million units, accounting for 54 percent of the total flat-panel TV market.

With IETV, Patel noted, viewers can connect to the Internet at all times by using their TV’s built-in feature, bypassing the need for a bridge device such as a set-top box, game console or Internet media adapter like Apple  TV. This connectivity lets viewers access content such as movies from Netflix and Amazon, content aggregators such as Hulu, and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

TV brands and manufacturers are also  working aggressively to create partnerships with the content providers in order to keep consumers interested and happy with continually updated material, Patel added. “The arrival of Internet-enabled TV models is part of the ongoing evolution and enhancement of TV sets,” he said. “Because innovation is a must in order to drive consumer adoption and replacement, the TV industry has embarked on a path of enhancing the consumer experience through interaction with their TV sets.”

North America and Western Europe will make up the largest consumption market for IETVs from 2010 to 2014. Japan will be the third largest market only until 2012, after which it will drop to fifth place, ranking behind both China and the collective area designated as ‘Rest of Asia-Pacific’, two distinct territories counted separately in tallies.