Blog articles from 10/2014

Apple’s CEO promised new categories in 2014. He promised but has not delivered—the much anticipated Apple Watch will not launch until sometime early 2015. Enters Microsoft. The software giant is rumored to launch its own wearables in 2014, and it did yesterday—not only announced its Microsoft Band, but the device is available in its stores from today. Nice job trying to steal the Christmas from Apple. The bigger news, however, is its Microsoft Health app and the services...

Fitbit launched three new products today, branded as Charge, Charge HR (heart rate monitoring), and Surge . With Charge HR, Fitbit finally brings the heart rate monitoring function to its popular fitness trackers, a nice upgrade to people’s fitness experience. The most interesting one is Surge, which bills itself as a sports watch with GPS, heart rate sensors, and a touch screen for caller ID and text alert. Is it a smart watch? It certainly has some smart features and its...

According to Parks Associates research , 25% of U.S. broadband households with smart home devices experience problems monthly.  As consumers adopt new categories of devices, including home automation and home monitoring devices, new support opportunities emerge. Successful premium support services will need to take a comprehensive approach to address consumer needs and help consumers get the most out of their devices as the Internet of Things continues to expand. Parks...

HealthBeat — VentureBeat's second annual event on the future of digital health technologies — will be held on October 27-28 at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco, CA.   From our wearable devices telling us how many REM cycles we miss, to the emergency room where sensors can track our vital signs, the harnessing and control of our personal health data is driving significant disruption in the health care industry.   HealthBeat will examine the many...

Parks Associates today released new European research that shows broadband households in Spain are more likely to opt out of pay-TV services and fees in favor of local broadcast channels. The firm's research study found nearly one-half of Spanish broadband households receive only local broadcast TV channels, compared to over 60% of British and German broadband households that pay separate monthly fees for pay-TV services. Glenn Hower , research analyst at Parks Associates,...

Microsoft recently started offering their “Answer Desk” technical support service in Microsoft stores throughout the U. S. Microsoft launched Answer Desk online in December 2011; a service designed to provide one-on-one expert help to users of Microsoft products, whether or not these products are purchased at Microsoft. The answer desk service offers software repair and support, virus and malware removal and tune-up services for free. Why invest in in-store channels?...

Yesterday, HBO announced plans to add a stand-alone streaming service to its content offerings. Though the company already has a successful subscription streaming service, HBO Go, this new streaming offering would allow consumers to opt-in without having to purchase an HBO subscription through their pay-TV provider. HBO CEO Richard Plepler noted in his comments yesterday that about 10 million U.S. homes have high-speed broadband and no pay-TV service. Parks Associates research...

Parks Associates research released yesterday  revealed that Apple's shares of the tablet market are falling, decreasing from 46% in 1Q 2012 to 37% today. Rival companies Samsung and Amazon are picking up the extra shares, both vying for second place with about 15% of the tablet market.  The new research comes from the firm's primary consumer study, 360 View: Mobility and the App Economy , which also shows that 60% of U.S. broadband households own a tablet....