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"The connected consumer will be a major focus at IFA," Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks Associates, told us in an e-mail. "With several new entrants in the smart home space, including Google, Apple, and Samsung, attendees can expect to see a multitude of new smart home products."

From the article "IFA 2014: Smart Phones, Watches and Appliances Expected" by Jef Coza.

More than 15% of U.S. homes have a home security system that will alert a monitoring firm in case of incidents, according to Parks Associates. The installations, equipment and recurring fees generate as much as $10 billion annually for the U.S. security industry.

Home security spending is expected to double in the next decade, the research firm estimates, as nearly three in 10 homes are expected to get systems.

The killer app literally driving installations? All-in-one a ...read more