E-commerce Times

That's not to say that there is no more hope for Microsoft, however.

"The recent Microsoft reorganization shows that the tech giant is clearly doubling down on its device and service business," said Harry Wang, director of research at Parks Associates. "Its moves signal that future competitive advantages in the consumer technology industry will come from a platform-centric approach that seamlessly integrates service, hardware and software to enable a good consumer experience ...read more

U.S. residential broadband Internet penetration has grown more than 400 percent since 2002, when just 16.5 million U.S. households had fast Internet service, according to Parks Associates. The increased presence of these high-speed connections has implications for a variety of devices, which increasingly are arriving in the home with embedded connectivity capabilities.

At present, connected appliances amount to less than 1 percent of all major appliances in the U.S.; however ...read more

"This is a purely economic issue," Parks Associates analyst Harry Wang told the E-Commerce Times. "You have this top-line growth in terms of service. Pandora monetizes by advertising, and a small portion that comes from subscription. The business has been growing over the past few years."

Competition has been building in the streaming music space. Just this week, Apple announced its new iTunes Radio service.

"Pandora is trying to lower the cost very cunningly by acquirin ...read more

PCMH and Medicare ACO share many common attributes, especially on their payment model structures. Both models will also benefit from care providers' investment in EMR technology and general IT innovations such as cloud services, mobile computing, and data analytics.

The PCPCC actually calls PCMH "foundational to ACOs," a description with which Parks Associates agrees.

The number of patients enrolled in either a PCMH or an ACO-recognized physician practice will experience ...read more

By the end of 2012, 60 percent of U.S. broadband households owned at least one app-enabled consmer electronic device. With connected device ownership at mainstream levels, there is a solid foundation for app development and rapid growth in app economies.

Of the primary devices used to access apps, smartphones have the highest penetration rates. Since 2010, however, newer app platforms such as tablets and smart TVs have experienced notable growth. Tablet adoption increased 20 ...read more

The evolving technological needs of consumers have prompted changes not only in tech support services, but also in the business strategies of technical support providers. Those providers need to adjust their business models in order to effectively meet consumers' needs and remain relevant.

At first glance, many recent innovations would seem to eliminate the need for tech support. CE manufacturers and industry consortia have spent the last few years developing solutions that ...read more

The definition and makeup of the "personal cloud" are areas of intense debate. A variety of companies with a stake in cloud-based engagement have very different perspectives on what is and is not included as part of a consumer's personal cloud.

"The cloud" broadly refers to the content, services, and features that users can access remotely on the Internet or via some other network. Generally, the cloud can be segregated into those portions designed for business use and those ...read more

More than just a marketing gimmick, gamification has the potential to inject new life into a variety of industries and broaden the appeal of many new and existing offerings.

The term "gamification" describes the use of game mechanics, such as challenges, achievements and rewards, to drive certain consumer behaviors in what are traditionally non-gaming contexts, such as television services, energy or health.

Currently, more than 40 percent of U.S. consumers play video gam ...read more