MACTECH

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) says that the number of connected digital trackers sold worldwide rose from 6.6 million in 2012 to 13.6 million in 2013 and will double again in 2014 to exceed 22 million. Factors driving consumer adoption of these device include the impact of new solutions such as the Fitbit, Google Fit, and Apple's HealthKit.

"Connected trackers will account for 52% of all digital fitness tracker unit sales in 2014 and reach 81% by 2 ...read more

Over 45% of U.S. pay-TV subscribers find cloud DVR technology very appealing, according to new research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) notes that consumers show particular interest in unlimited storage space and two-week catch-up services for video.

With the Supreme Court omitting cloud DVR in its 2014 Aereo ruling, pay-TV providers can experiment with these cloud services as strategies to build subscriber loyalty and increase revenues.

"The Aereo case l ...read more

Parks Associates (www.ParksAssociates.com) has announced a new report that reveals U.S. small businesses (SMBs) with more than 10 employees spend on average more than US$3,000 per year on tech support. The research firm notes only 28% of these SMBs report having a support subscription but tech support spending among all SMBs will increase over the next several years as they adopt more devices and cloud services and deal with an increasingly virtual workforce.

"Small business ...read more

Parks Associates has released research that provides in-depth analysis, competitor profiles, business model strategies, trends, and forecasts for product and service ecosystems serving the connected consumer.

Currently 75% of U.S. homes have broadband, and over 80% of these households have a home network. Over 60% own connected CE, including over 80% of consumers 18-34, and the average household has nearly seven connected CE devices.

 "Consumers no longer evaluate connec ...read more

The Parks Associates research group (www.parksassociates.com) has released mobile industry research showing roughly 29% of U.S. broadband users watch video on a mobile phone monthly, with the average user watching 1.7 hours of video on a mobile phone each week.

"Since 2008, revenues from voice services for the top-four U.S. mobile network operators (MNOs) have declined 6%, while data revenues have grown 129%," says Harry Wang, director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Park ...read more

Approximately 60% of smartphone and tablet users watch 1-5 hours of TV/video on these mobile platforms each week, which will help drive in-app advertising revenues on these platforms to over US$5.6 billion by 2017, according to the Parks Associates research group.

"While industry stakeholders have access to vast amounts of user data, cross-platform audience measurement remains complex, varied, and undefined," Senior Research Analyst Heather Way says."There is no scalable, cr ...read more

New research from Parks Associates reveals that approximately 66% of all U.S. broadband households find a smart home bundled package appealing, which could include a variety of home safety, security, and management offerings. Home management is the most appealing bundle, including safety alerts, remote home monitoring, and remote management of the home's thermostat.

"Consumers, while interested in smart home services, are averse to long-term contracts, but there are other, a ...read more

Research from Parks Associates (http://www.parksassociates.com) finds over 40 million U.S. consumers, or 20% of all smartphone users, used at least one mobile proximity or mobile e-commerce wallet in 2013, and usage will increase to nearly 113 million, or 43% of all smartphone users, by 2017.

"After years in development, the mobile wallet market is making progress towards viability," says Jennifer Kent, senior analyst at Parks Associates. "Mobile wallet apps exist at the int ...read more