Business Week

As of 2005, about 5 million people around the world were using superfast Internet connections to watch TV, movies, and other video content. That tally is expected to surge to 70 million by 2010, according to researcher Parks Associates. In an effort to fuel -- and meet -- that demand, services providers the world over are spending billions of dollars to upgrade networks and cable systems.

From the article "Nortel and Huaweis Broadband Bet," by Olga Kharif.

And if those stakes aren't high enough, there's also a slice of the many dollars spent each month by Americans increasingly turning to the Web not only for communications, but also entertainment. The Web is quickly emerging as a key distribution point for the gamut of programming, from Welcome Back Kotter reruns to pre-TV broadcasts of 24. U.S. Internet-connected households spend an average $214 a month on such items as phone service, movies, cable and satellite, and digital down ...read more

Already, consumers' changing habits are showing up in surveys. According to market researcher Parks Associates, 42% of Net users are less likely to go to movies than they were five years ago. An additional 46% are less likely to go to a concert. By contrast, 28% are more likely to rent a DVD. Says Alexandra Walker, a Washington (D.C.) editor who typifies the new breed of consumer: "We have a ginormous TV -- and a night at the movies keeps getting pricier."

From the article "Tra ...read more

There is still much debate in the wireless industry over which new technologies being developed and tested will be widely adopted by the big cellphone companies. Intel, the chip maker, for instance, is putting its weight behind a technology widely referred to as WiMax, which differs from Flarion's technology. Qualcomm has been pushing its own CDMA-based methods and now, with Flarion, will have another choice to offer to customers.

"I think Qualcomm is trying to cover its bases, ...read more

[W]ireless Web usage hasn't taken off on cell phones (only 3% of U.S. wireless users browse the Net on a daily basis, according to consultancy Parks Associates)...

From the article "Nokia's Newest Is No Cell Phone," by Olga Kharif.
 

While it's hard to say how the next electronics wave will play out, it seems clear that all this competition will mean lower prices for consumers and consolidation among companies as they scramble to survive cutthroat pricing, says John Barrett, director of research for the tech consultancy Parks Associates, in Dallas. Already, newcomers from China, such as Shinco and Shanghai LeJin SVA Electronics, are attacking bigger rivals with low pricing.

From the article "Consumer Electr ...read more

Within two to three years, though, WiMax's beam might also track a special chip in wireless devices, Richardson says. The beam won't move at the speed of a car, so it might be tough to check e-mail while driving, says Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, an analyst with emerging technology consultancy Parks Associates in Dallas. Still, that would only cause accidents, anyway. The technology would be best for a mobile worker who wants to check e-mail during a stop at a gas station. The combined ...read more

PCs, of course, hold gigabytes of data in the form of digital music and pictures.  But more and more consumers prefer to share that content with family and friends on Net-connected TVs and home-theater setups.  A survey released in June by researcher Parks Associates found that 20% of Net-connected households want to link their entertainment devices to a home network.  To fill the demand, Gateway Inc. has just announced a $249 DVD player that also lets you stream music and video ...read more