January 2009
JanuaryJan 30 Friday 09
ZigBee Wireless Sensor Network Application
Broadband services continue to be in high demand, attracting millions of new subscribers worldwide each month, and enabling new applications, according to the latest In-Stat market study.
In-stat projects that Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) and smart energy will be the …
Dramatic Slowdown of PC Shipments in 4Q08
Despite market optimism early in the fourth quarter, the pace at which the economic environment unraveled, and the extent to which Personal Computer (PC) purchases were affected, was faster than anticipated.
Following roughly six years of growth, with the last five …
Chinese Internet Audience Outranks the U.S.
comScore reported that total global Internet audience has surpassed 1 billion visitors in December 2008. The actual distribution of those users may surprise many in the "developed" Western nations.
The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the highest share -- by far -- of …
Ready for Next Generation Remote Controls?
The traditional infra-red remote control device used to command consumer electronics (CE) equipment -- including TVs and Pay-TV set top boxes -- is somewhat limited. Even universal remotes that control multiple devices are quite one-dimensional and poorly designed, from …
JanuaryJan 28 Wednesday 09
Virtual Worlds Venture Capitalists Retreating
Virtual Worlds Management released a report tracking the virtual worlds-related investments of 2008. More than $594 million in 63 virtual worlds related companies in 2008.
The year has seen a steady decline in investments from 2007's burst of over $1.4 billion. In Q4 …
Mobile Operators Offer Personalized Service
A new market study by Parks Associates finds worldwide growth in the number of 3G subscribers will motivate service providers, under pressure to maintain customer satisfaction and build revenues, to expand on traditional voice offerings to include converged fixed-mobile …
GPS Chips in Smartphones add Applications
Shipments of GPS-enabled mobile phones will hit a speed-bump in 2009, but will still manage to post year-to-year unit growth through the current economic downturn, according to a new market study by ABI Research.
While global handset shipments are expected to drop by …
JanuaryJan 27 Tuesday 09
Wi-Fi and VoIP Migrating to Mobile Phones
In the next five years, the nature of mobile phones will change radically, according to the latest market study from In-Stat. Increasing availability of mobile broadband, operator support for data-intensive devices, and improvements in usability for mobile devices …
JanuaryJan 25 Sunday 09
Why Newspaper Advertising Model is Broken
According to the latest market assessment by eMarketer, the outlook for newspaper publishers in the U.S. is downright dismal. They estimate that American newspaper advertising revenues declined 16.4 percent in 2008 to $37.9 billion.
The forward-looking story is equally …
JanuaryJan 23 Friday 09
New Momentum for 3D Cinema Technology
It's predicted that 2009 is set to be the year for 3D, a reality that was apparent across the breadth of the recent Consumer Electronics Show, with many key players in the industry ready to showcase their capabilities.
With a myriad of competing technologies and 3D …
Fiber Optic Communications Global Upside
At the end of 2008, fiber optic communications (FTTx) had firmly established itself as a third viable and scalable global fixed broadband technology alongside DSL and Cable.
Despite economic problems, operators will continue to build new networks, and the number of …
JanuaryJan 22 Thursday 09
UltraWideBand Technology Consolidation
Apparently 2008 was a difficult year for UltraWideBand (UWB) technology adoption, according to the latest market study by In-Stat. There are now four fewer UWB chip makers than there were in the middle of 2008, the high-tech market research firm says.
A market recap: …
JanuaryJan 21 Wednesday 09
Global IPTV Market Forecasts Still Upbeat
Riding on the wave of high-speed broadband connectivity in leading markets within Asia-Pacific and Europe, plus the evolution of business and user requirements, television is no longer what it used to be.
Trends are showing that interactive bi-directional television is …
JanuaryJan 20 Tuesday 09
Outlook for All Advertising Good for Google
According to a Fitch Ratings market assessment, advertisers now have more options in the current economic environment than at any other time, and they are scaling back traditional high Cost Per Thousand (CPM) "impressions" oriented advertising campaigns.
Even profitable …
Tech Buyers Favor Social Media Marketing
Marketers of technology products and services have good reason to explore social media marketing techniques. Now eMarketer reports that corporations are finding that blogs can be instrumental tools for building solid relationships and gaining meaningful influence with …
JanuaryJan 18 Sunday 09
Pocket Video Camcorder for Web 2.0 Apps
The camcorder market remains one of the most complex and dynamic Consumer Electronic (CE) categories, despite witnessing fairly modest unit growth in recent years. Now, the emergence of a new breed of low-cost, back-to-basics, pocket video camera (PVC) is connecting …
New Study of Consumer Video Consumption
The Center for the Digital Future announced results from the latest Visual Networking Index (VNI) Pulse Survey, designed to assess worldwide consumer video behaviors and attitudes.
The study highlights consumer video "consumption" and attitudes about video in the United …
JanuaryJan 15 Thursday 09
Asia-Pacific Market Could Save Mobile Data
The global mobile phone handset market went into a tailspin in October and November, which will result in a nearly 5 percent year-over-year decline in unit shipments in Q4. While 2009 is likely to see more stormy economic weather, there are a few rays of sunshine.
"The …
Tech Marketers Under Pressure for Results
Laura Nurzynski, group vice president of IDC's Global Go-to-Market and Sales Enablement Services, will present insights and innovations in tactical marketing best practices at IDC Nordic Directions.
IDC research shows that tactical marketing efforts will become one of …
British Eager to Switch for Faster Broadband
Speed is more likely to influence British customers to switch Broadband Service Providers (BSPs), according to a recent market study by Strategy Analytics.
The study found that, despite high self-reported customer satisfaction levels, seventy percent of UK subscribers …