PC World

It shouldn't be too hard for Cisco to make its Linksys routers into the central device in a home network, even with multiple vendors' equipment, said Parks Associates analyst Kurt Scherf. But the key to doing so will be selling them as gateways through service providers, he said.

"Consumers are much more happy to allow their service providers to be the IT manager," Scherf said. "You will still buy products off the shelf and connect them to a home network, but gateways will b ...read more

But meanwhile, existing powerline systems from the HomePlug Powerline Alliance and coaxial networks from MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) are gaining large customer bases among consumer electronics vendors and with service providers that distribute home networking gear, said Parks Associates analyst Kurt Scherf.

"It's going to get a lot harder for companies to switch boats in midstream," Scherf said.

From the article, "G.hn Home-network Backers Plan Tests Next Week" ...read more

"Will Microsoft buy RIM? That is a possibility and a fast track for Microsoft to gain a foothold in the mobile hardware business," says Harry Wang, director of mobile research at Parks Associates. "RIM's market capitalization is only $25 billion and Microsoft has $48 billion in cash. If RIM's value drops to $15 billion, it will become an attractive target for Microsoft. Maybe Steve Ballmer was planting that seed during his keynote appearance at Blackberry World." It all adds up ...read more

Bundling Umi with broadband Internet access and other services may be the best way to sell the systems to consumers, Parks Associates analyst Kurt Scherf said. A carrier or cable operator that was already selling several services to a household might be able to throw Umi in for a fairly small incremental cost, Scherf said. Consumers might be more interested in that type of offering, he said.

"Throwing a large upfront price point at them, plus a large monthly subscription, ...read more