Blog articles from 08/2011

Despite the decline in the global economy, electronic gaming still shows strong growth in a variety of areas. Social gaming has become a $1 billion industry while Internet connectivity among different platforms has given consumers more online and multiplayer gaming options. However, data on consumer spending and behaviors in areas such as virtual items are currently scarce. To compete for the consumer’s shrinking entertainment budget and remain on the leading edge of gaming, industry...

Consumer attitudes toward video access are changing, moving away from ownership and rental models to streaming and subscription services, as connected CE and smart TVs proliferate in the U.S. and Western Europe. Online Video and Internet TV Services: Global Outlook reports that in a six-month period, U.S. online video subscribers spent almost $50 on average for video subscriptions while a la carte video typically garnered less than half that amount. From 2009 to 2010, the number...

Parks Associates supports the Eleventh Annual Storage Visions Conference that will be held at the Riviera Hotel Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 8 & 9, 2012. The Storage Visions 2012 Conference is a partner to the 2012 CES. The preliminary agenda for SV 2012 offers many opportunities to show case visionary storage technology and applications as well as explore the conference theme of “Heavy Storage for Thin Clients.” Following are preliminary sessions...

More than 8 billion devices will be connected on the home network by year-end 2015. The multitude of components in the digital home forces Service Providers to undertake new roles in the digital home. This white paper details the steps broadband, television, communications, and wireless service providers can take to win the race to serve the digital home. Parks Associates will discuss service provider strategies in-depth in the upcoming conference CONNECTIONS™ Europe : Cloud...

The decision by the U.S. District Court in New York , on the 4-year-old case involving EMI Group and MP3tunes, could pave the way for Google's Music, Amazon.com's Cloud Player, Dropbox, and other providers of online storage services to add time-saving features. The ruling parted the clouds, allowing more companies to offer the scan-and-match feature without a label's consent. Dropbox previously used a method called "de-duplication," which is also used by MP3tunes....

AT&T and Digi are working together to jointly offer Digi X-Grid Solutions. Digi X-Grid Solutions is a suite of products and services designed to bring connectivity to energy-oriented devices in homes and businesses. Utilities and software providers that develop for the smart grid industry can use Digi X-Grid Solutions to more effectively meet customers' energy demand. Smart grids first emerged as a way to monitor energy use and reduce consumption, and at the current rate, the...

Time Warner Cable recently announced that it would subsidize some purchases of set-top box, Slingbox. Time Warner Cable said it would give its subscribers, who pay $99-a-month for Wideband Internet service, a rebate for the total cost of the $300 device.This rebate offer reflects the fact that Internet connectivity is becoming the core part of the business for companies like Time Warner Cable. This movement is creating problems with programmers who think that distributors should pay...

Dallas-based researcher Parks Associates says 13% of consumers who have broadband connections have made cutbacks within the last 12 months -- with another 9% to come. The study says this includes some 3.9 million people who regularly watch Internet video.The study says 22% of all broadband households now use the Netflix Watch Instantly service. Also, it was suggested that set-top box distributors find a way to include YouTube, the digital video service, which is already being include in...