IBN Live

In an August report, the NPD Group estimates that roughly a third of smart TVs in the US weren't actually connected to the Internet. That's down from about half two years earlier, but still not good. Researchers at Parks Associates found that even as more Americans are using smart TV functions, streaming device usage has grown even faster.

"If you're a streaming media box (maker), you've got much more ability to push new features out into the market at an affordable price," ...read more

"Automakers are keying into this demand by embedding connectivity in new vehicle models. Many are also supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto -- they do not want these mobile-centric solutions to be differentiators for their competitors," said Jennifer Kent, Director, Research Quality & Product Development, Parks Associates.

From the article "Smartphone-connected cars could be the next big thing in 2016" by IBNlive.com.

Consumers are starting to entertain the idea of the connected home, but for the moment at least, the television is still the center of attention.

According to consumer research firm Parks Associates' president, Stuart Sikes, consumers are responding to devices and systems that are intuitive. "Solutions which simply work are the ones that simply sell," he explains. In many cases that means that interoperability is lower on the list of criteria, for the moment at least, althou ...read more

However, convincing consumers to share that data willingly could prove to be a huge potential stumbling block.

Research published this week by Parks Associates finds that the greater the amount of data a device collects, the less willing a user would be to share it in return for a health insurance discount.

For example, 42 per cent of pedometer owners would be willing to share data, but that drops to 26 per cent for those who use a sleep quality monitor. What's more, 35 ...read more