If predictions from Parks Associates are correct, this should be a good season for connected devices like Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV and Roku. That's mainly because they’re cheap and small and, if you ask me, because they represent the holiday tradition of giving family members gizmos that are, in some vague way, futuristic.

The streaming sticks and similar dongle devices have that allure. They can be given to “the man who has everything” because they’re something that man may not yet had time to get, or to older people giving to younger people as a plastic indication they’re at least trying to “get it.” Or from younger people to parents because those dongles are pretty darned simple to work. (It will also be a good season for smartwatches, Parks says.)

The Christmas shopping tip sheet from Parks says these OTT helpers should be big again this year, as they were last. Barbara Kraus, director of research for Parks, says that last year, 46% of Google Chromecasts and 37% of streaming media players, such as the Roku 3 and Apple TV, were purchased as gifts.”

From the article "Dongle Bells: The Holiday Stream Of Streaming Devices" by P.J. Bednarski.

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