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JAN 11, 2011

Parks Associates sees gesture recognition, smart home services, energy management solutions, and multiscreen video services among top trends emerging from 2011 CES

International research firm Parks Associates anticipates 2011 will mark the resurgence of the Smart Home concept following a series of CES announcements as well as research showing U.S. consumers value energy management as a lifestyle choice as well as a cost-saving measure.

Parks Associates hosted the fifth annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES on January 6, featuring record-breaking attendance on the first day of CES, where the firms' leading analysts commented on the expansion of connected home systems and services.

"CES 2011 featured several significant announcements for connected home systems and services, smart appliances, and broadband-enabled home monitoring services, including Verizon’s Home Monitoring Control offering, which featured applications for a web camera, lighting control, outlet modules, and a communicating thermostat," said Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems, Parks Associates. "Consumers are starting to see energy-efficient products and services as a means to improve their home and personal comfort as well as for cost savings, which opens the market for a variety of solutions from utilities, service providers, and manufacturers."

Parks Associates will further explore the opportunities and implications of residential energy management at the upcoming Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, January 24-26, in Austin, Texas.

CES 2011 also featured a variety of sophisticated gesture-recognition and multiplatform connectivity solutions.

"What was fantasy in Minority Report a few years back is becoming a reality in 2011," said Kurt Scherf, VP, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates. "The brisk sales of Microsoft Kinects, along with upcoming products such as the WAVI Xtion, indicate gesture-recognition products have strong early-market appeal and will help redefine how people interact with their connected TVs and other digital devices within the home. We will explore these factors more in-depth at CONNECTIONS™ 2011 on June 28-30."

Other key CES 2011 innovations center on solutions that link mobile and portable CE such as smartphones and tablet computers to the television so consumers can move seamlessly between platforms and even "flick" video from an iPad to an Internet-connectable TV. The use of complementary video viewing devices has significant implications on how interactive television and TV Everywhere concepts will evolve.

Upcoming events from Parks Associates:

For information about CONNECTIONS™ Conferences, visit www.connectionsconference.com.

CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES includes support from CONNECTIONS™ Europe sponsors Accedo Broadband, ActiveVideo Networks, ADB, Gigle Networks, Latens, PacketVideo, ProVision Communications, Radialpoint, Ralink Technology Corporation, Virgin Media, and Zeitera. CONNECTIONS™ 2011 sponsors include Association Sponsor CEA and Affinegy, Allegro, HCL, iTOK.NET, Rovi, and Roxio.

About CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES

CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES is an annual research and industry event hosted by international research firm Parks Associates at CES in Las Vegas. In 2023, the executive event features one day of panel discussions on the state of the smart home, connected health, home security, and new home services, with trends and implications for connected consumers and opportunities for companies to build new revenues and develop innovative business models.

The 17th annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit will take place January 5 during CES, which runs January 5-8 in Las Vegas. Parks Associates hosts a day of sessions at the Venetian Hotel, Lando 4304, followed by a networking reception. Follow the event on Twitter at @CONN_Summit.

For information about CONNECTIONS™ Summit, contact [email protected] or call 972-490-1113 or visit www.connectionssummit.com.

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com