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After the voice-activated Siri feature was announced last year for the iPhone 4S, it seemed everyone with the latest iPhone was walking around asking their device questions and making requests. A survey by Parks Associates released in March found while 87% of iPhone 4S owners were using the tool at least once a month, most were using Siri mostly for a few basic tasks, primarily making phone calls and sending texts.

From the article, "5 big changes in iOS 6" by Heather Kelly.

Often, companies launching complex hardware-and-software packages are forced to make compromises in order to meet deadlines, said Harry Wang, a mobile analyst for market research firm Parks Associates.

Consumer acceptance of the software-upgrade process can make these fast-paced timelines viable, but "if a major function is missing, it will definitely hurt sales," he wrote in an e-mail."

These efforts must be meticulously coordinated," Wang added. "Everyone wants to make it a ...read more

Connecting home appliances to the internet isn't exactly a new concept. And Kurt Scherf, an analyst at Parks Associates, used the example of an animated TV series about a futuristic family to explain why it hasn't taken off.

"It's just too Jetsonian to be practical," he said.

From the article, "When refrigerators tweet and washing machines text" by John D. Sutter

Patrick Miller loves the idea of three-dimensional images jumping out of his living room TV, wowing his family and friends.

But, like many tech journalists and analysts, he's found 3-D TV to be completely "underwhelming" so far. There aren't many 3-D movies available at home. The images give people headaches. The glasses are nerdy, expensive and uncomfortable, since they use "active shutters" to toggle images between your eyes.

"It's been an epic failure to date," said K ...read more

But Apple or no Apple, Google or no Google, CES still has a firm grip on driving the year's consumer technology trends and is worth the attention it gets, said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates, a research group.

"It's large and exhausting but at the same time I really find it to be the most important (event) of the year in terms of how it generates excitement about what's possible with consumer electronics and services," he said. "It's a ...read more

Tablet computers, including Apple's iPad, are getting a lot of hype as potential gifts this holiday season. But a new survey found that on older folks' wish lists, they lag behind the plain old computer mouse.

Tablets ranked as the fifth-hottest electronic item for this holiday season among Millennials, those born from the late-1970s to the early-2000s, according to a survey by consumer research firm Parks Associates.

From the article, "Survey: iPad trails computer mouse ...read more