Blog articles from 02/2016

According to Parks Associates research, almost 14 million Americans have severe chronic respiratory problems such as COPD. Smart watch adoption has nearly doubled from 2014 to now, and two-thirds of U.S. broadband households engage in a health app or portal activity on a monthly basis. The ongoing consumerization of healthcare and the new emphasis on outcomes in compensation are driving the need for continued innovation in connected health in 2016. The ecosystem for connected...

Service providers and OEMs continue to introduce new offerings in Europe, bringing new value propositions and driving increased adoption and future purchase intentions of smart home and connected CE devices. Currently 45% of broadband households in the U.K., Germany, Spain, and France have a smart TV. Regarding future purchases, 33% of these broadband households plan to purchase a smart home device in the next 12 months. Additional Parks Associates research shows: French...

Parks Associates research recently cited in Intelligent Utility shows that 16% of all U.S. broadband households own one or more smart home devices. Many of these smart devices offer energy management capabilities, including demand response. Utilities are now weighing the benefits of incorporating smart devices into utility programs. Tom Kerber , Director of Research for Home Controls & Energy, reports that utilities can use data from smart devices to advance the success of...

A recent but significant development is Apple’s and Google’s entry into the health and wellness market. Both giants offer a wearables OS platform, dominate the smartphone and tablet software market, control app distribution channels, and now have their own respective health data aggregation/device integration platform. Apple’s HealthKit and ResearchKit have received considerable news coverage highlighting its partnerships with healthcare industry players. Google also launched...

In many ways, I was born to moderate a panel at next week’s Smart Energy Summit, held at the Omni Hotel in Austin. I grew up in a household where my father would “politely” remind us to turn off the lights when we left a room. I can say with some degree of certainty his motivation went far beyond being an early conservationist; he didn’t want to pay the Philadelphia Electronic Company (now PECO) one penny more than he had to. And for the past 32-plus years, I have been...

Today, 59% of U.S. broadband households subscribe to an OTT video service. Two-thirds of broadband households own a connected entertainment device, and more than one-quarter own a streaming media player. 2015 saw key trends in the connected entertainment world, trends that will continue to affect the industry in 2016. As the new year progresses, players in the global market will face new opportunities and challenges. Parks Associates and Lynx Technology recently partnered...

The connected cars market received its fair share of attention at CES earlier this year. Exhibitors’ displays of what was in store for the future of the Connected Vehicle included advanced road mapping and drone-to-vehicle system development, but autonomous-driving vehicles once again dominated the show floor buzz. Autonomous driving has gathered so much traction recently that it has now become one of the most (if not the most) anticipated features of the connected car. With that...

Parks Associates recently released new European research that finds over 40% of U.K. broadband households are likely to buy new connected devices within the next 12 months. Additionally, these products – including smart door locks, sensors, and security cameras - will be part of a home security or control system that can be monitored or controlled by a computer or mobile device. On February 12, Jason Paris , Director, Business Development, Parks Associates, will present this...