Blog articles from 02/2014

I left the 2014 Consumer Electronic Show with a WOW for all the wearable gadgets. There may be 200 credible watch brands in the world but the smartwatch sector will easily top that number. The digital watch market is opened up for the tech industry—the intense interest comes from not only large consumer electronic brands such as Samsung, Apple, LG, and Sony, but also brands in the fashion and fitness businesses. Since January, there has been non-stop news of smartwatch development....

Facebook opens its checkbook again. This time, it spends $16 billion on WhatsApp, a mobile messaging app with a staggering user base and only a couple of years ago valued at $1 billion. What is most surprising from Facebook’s press release is the stat that WhatsApp’s volume of messages is “approaching the entire global telecom SMS volume.” If the WhatsApp buy is Facebook’s own recognition of the slow traction of its Facebook messenger app, it is also a smart move to acquire a...

I’ve been following the proceedings of Parks Associates’ Smart Energy Summit this week, and by all counts, it has been a great week of workshops, keynotes, and panels. Among some of the interesting statistics coming from the conference include: Kevin Meagher from Lowe’s says that their Safe & Secure kit outsells their Iris Comfort & Control kit by a 4-1 margin; Five percent of U.S. broadband households switched to a time-of-use (TOU) electric plan in...

Parks Associates announced new research finding at the 2014  Smart Energy Summit  in Austin this week. The results of a new consumer satisfaction survey report that many consumers are nervous about switching to a variable rate or time-of-use (TOU) energy program, thinking that their energy bills will increase after doing so. However, once a household adapts to off-peak consumption patterns, their bills could actually decrease. Additionally, Parks Associates research...

The webinar that Parks Associates is giving on Thursday, February 20 ( Supporting the Connected Home: Preventing The Internet of Broken Things ) has some very interesting topics. I’m particularly intrigued by areas such as new innovations and tools for customer support. As I study the technical support/call center space, I think that these areas are of critical importance, as they will determine how satisfied customers are with the support they receive AND they will determine the...

As more and more smart home control devices and offerings become available to the public, new ways to maximize their potential and their convenience become key considerations for consumers wishing to adopt. Parks Associates research finds that, from a product perspective, connectivity expands the functionality of a product and enhances the user experience. Connectivity also opens the door to new revenue opportunities from demand response (DR) and energy efficiency (EE) programs....

Parks Associates follows the digital advertising industry closely. New research indicates that smartphone and tablet owners are increasing the amount of time they spend watching TV and video apps on their devices—in fact, 44% of tablet owners and 32% of smartphone users have increased their video consumption on these mobile platforms compared to 12 months ago. This increase in video consumption by consumers will lead to subsequent revenue increases for in-app advertising as...

As in any major event in the communications industry, there are always winners and losers. Here are a few thoughts on the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger and how some of the parties involved view the outcome. Comcast (the cable-side of the business): While the deal will have to be approved by regulators and some markets will be sold off to competitors to allow the deal to go through, Comcast clearly enjoys many benefits from the deal. With the combined company serving...