Digital Lifescapes

What's the meaningful business impact of online video adoption on digital marketing investments in 2009? Apparently the growth trend has caught the attention of mainstream marketers. Marketers in the U.S. will take a closer look at online video in 2009, according to a survey conducted in December 2008 by PermissionTV. More than two-thirds of respondents said they would focus their budgets on online video this year. More than one-half of respondents also expected to be implementing or extending an online video project in Q2 2009. However, less than one-third said they were doing so currently. eMarketer estimates that spending on online video advertising will grow to $4.6 billion in 2013 -- representing a more than sevenfold increase from the $587 million spent on the format in 2008. More than four out of five Internet users will watch online video advertising in 2012, eMarketer projects, up from the two-thirds who did so in 2008. Online video ads are expected to change the nature of

The fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) outlook is now suspect, as most telecom operators have failed to deliver the mass of subscribers they promised. Despite this fact, Informa Telecoms and Media forecasts that over 190 million subscribers could be FMC users by 2013. The propensity to hype new FMC services is an unfortunate characteristic of the mobile phone service industry, which leads to the services themselves being downplayed when they do not live up to expectations. FMC subscribers are expected to increase by 2013 -- but these subscribers are only forecast to equate to around 5 percent of the global market, states Paul Merry author of Informa Telecoms and Media's report. More seriously, mobile operators have failed to monetize FMC, continues Merry, "Within such an environment the justification for starting along the path to FMC becomes a real issue." Of the subscribers forecast the majority will be device-based users, FMC subscribers who use a dual-mode capable device

There are now signs that the consumer electronic (CE) sector has been negatively impacted by economic pressures, according to the latest market study by In-Stat. Shipment growth in 2009 will be slowed down across a number of CE segments -- and video game consoles is expected to be one of these markets. In 2008, total video game console unit shipments reached approximately 48 million worldwide, up 17 percent from worldwide unit shipments in 2007. Growth occurred over this time period for a number of reasons. Consumer demand for the Nintendo Wii was very strong and outpaced demand for both the Xbox 360 (Microsoft) and the PlayStation 3 (Sony). Also, the video game console market did not see an impact from the declining economy until late October 2008. Even then, the market survived the remainder of the year, and experienced continued demand over the crucial holiday season. However, for 2009, the market is expected to fall almost 2 percent to 47.5 million unit shipments worldwide. The vid

The traditional infra-red remote control device used to command consumer electronics (CE) equipment -- including TVs and Pay-TV set top boxes -- is somewhat limited. Even universal remotes that control multiple devices are quite one-dimensional and poorly designed, from a usability point of view. If some major CE manufacturers have their way, the next generation of remotes will be based on Radio Frequency (RF) technology. The growth curve for these products is just beginning, but is forecast to show a 55 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2014. According to senior analyst Jason Blackwell of ABI Research, the first such products are already appearing in Japan. "RF remote controls are starting to ship with a few high-end Japanese TVs such as Sony's premium Bravia models. Companies like Sony hope to start with early-adopters, then ramp up volumes, drive down costs, and move these remotes into more mainstream products." IR remotes perform the basic task, so wh

comScore reported that total global Internet audience has surpassed 1 billion visitors in December 2008. The actual distribution of those users may surprise many in the "developed" Western nations. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the highest share -- by far -- of global Internet users at 41 percent, followed by Europe (28 percent share), North America (18 percent share), Latin-America (7 percent share), and the Middle East & Africa (5 percent share). "Surpassing one billion global users is a significant landmark in the history of the Internet," said Magid Abraham, President and Chief Executive Officer, comScore, Inc. China represented the largest online audience in the world in December 2008 with 180 million Internet users, representing nearly 18 percent of the total worldwide Internet audience, followed by the U.S. (16.2 percent), Japan (6.0 percent), Germany (3.7 percent) and the U.K. (3.6 percent). The most popular Web property in the world in December

Despite market optimism early in the fourth quarter, the pace at which the economic environment unraveled, and the extent to which Personal Computer (PC) purchases were affected, was faster than anticipated. Following roughly six years of growth, with the last five averaging 15 percent increases, worldwide PC shipments were down 0.4 percent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2008 (4Q08), according to IDC's latest global study. The dramatic slowdown was enough for a sequential decline of 2.5 percent from the third quarter in place of an expected increase for the holiday season. The weakening economic environment, including falling home and stock values, deteriorating credit, and implications for trade and consumer spending, was clearly the dominant factor limiting growth. Low-cost portables, vendor competition, and holiday promotions were simply not enough to overcome the economic tide, even with the market for mini notebooks (also known as netbooks) taking off. Growth of portabl

Broadband services continue to be in high demand, attracting millions of new subscribers worldwide each month, and enabling new applications, according to the latest In-Stat market study. In-stat projects that Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) and smart energy will be the leading applications for 802.15.4 and ZigBee wireless sensor networks. Other growing application segments include consumer electronics, building control, industrial process control, and residential automation. ZigBee, through its impressive marketing efforts in the U.S., has owned the largest mind share in the wireless sensor networking space for the past several years. However, a host of proprietary software stacks are being used in applications where ZigBee offers more than what is required by the specific applications, the high-tech market research firm says. "A large number of technologies are being used for countless applications, with ZigBee usage becoming more focused on the fast-growing smart energy applicati

Virtual Worlds Management released a report tracking the virtual worlds-related investments of 2008. More than $594 million in 63 virtual worlds related companies in 2008. The year has seen a steady decline in investments from 2007's burst of over $1.4 billion. In Q4 2008,we saw $101 million invested in 13 virtual worlds related companies. This was down from $184 million in Q1 to Q2's $161 millions to Q3's $148.5 million and now the most drastic drop. "The year wasn't bad for all sectors," said Christopher Sherman, Executive Director, Virtual Worlds Management. Nineteen youth-oriented properties received over $70.47 million over the course of the year. The bulk of that was in Q1 and Q3. As more and more youth worlds came to market over the course of the year, spectators worried that the space was overcrowded. Others have seen it as a sector for opportunity, and it appears as if venture capitalists are still somewhat interested. With the youth world space on i

Shipments of GPS-enabled mobile phones will hit a speed-bump in 2009, but will still manage to post year-to-year unit growth through the current economic downturn, according to a new technology, media and telecom  (TMT) market study by ABI Research. While global handset shipments are expected to drop by 4—5 percent in 2009, GPS-enabled phones will climb to 240 million units -- an increase of 6.4 percent over 2008. This surprising performance will be driven by the ongoing demand for feature-rich smartphones. Although slowing slightly in 2009, demand for smartphones, a group that includes the Apple iPhone 3G, RIM's BlackBerry devices, and Nokia N series phones among a growing list, will increase at an average annual unit shipment rate of 19 percent through 2014. During the period, GPS chipsets will continue to penetrate this segment -- nine of every ten smartphones will contain GPS ICs in 2014, compared with one in three in 2008. Falling component prices and increasing consu

A new market study by Parks Associates finds worldwide growth in the number of 3G subscribers will motivate service providers, under pressure to maintain customer satisfaction and build revenues, to expand on traditional voice offerings to include converged fixed-mobile services. Their report predicts that the number of 3G subscribers will exceed 2.5 billion worldwide by 2013, with over one billion in Asia alone. The tremendous expansion of this large service population will catalyze the development of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC), creating new service options where users can access video, audio, and community offerings via mobile devices once limited to traditional voice applications. "Service providers have to offer personalized services that fit individual needs, instead of uniform sets of services," said Jayant Dasari, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. "Consumers rely on their mobile phones for communications and for entertainment and social networking." Dem

In the next five years, the nature of mobile phones will change radically, according to the latest market study from In-Stat. Increasing availability of mobile broadband, operator support for data-intensive devices, and improvements in usability for mobile devices brought about by the influence of the Apple iPhone will evolve the designs of handheld devices. "Consumers are nearing their limits adjusting to the added complexity of converged mobile phone devices," says David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst. Feature proliferation is impinging on usability. Handset vendors and mobile operators must carefully evaluate the drive toward increasingly converged devices with features and functions that add direct value to consumers. The In-Stat research covers the worldwide market for cellular devices. It includes in-depth consumer research based on the results of ongoing consumer surveys, conducted primarily in North America reflecting changes in attitudes toward a number of handset feat

According to the latest market assessment by eMarketer, the outlook for newspaper publishers in the U.S. is downright dismal. They estimate that American newspaper advertising revenues declined 16.4 percent in 2008 to $37.9 billion. The forward-looking story is equally bad. By 2012, spending will slide to $28.4 billion. "The current economic situation is making things tough across all media, but newspaper revenues are falling more than in any other major medium," says Carol Krol, eMarketer senior analyst. "Even the former bulwark of newspaper revenues, classified advertising, is plummeting due to Craigslist.com and other online alternatives." The Newspaper Association of America tracked two consecutive quarters of declining revenues for newspapers online for Q2 and Q3 of 2008 -- the first time that has ever occurred since it began tracking online figures in 2003. For 2008, eMarketer estimates online newspaper advertising revenues declined by 0.4 percent overall comp

It's predicted that 2009 is set to be the year for 3D, a reality that was apparent across the breadth of the recent Consumer Electronics Show, with many key players in the industry ready to showcase their capabilities. With a myriad of competing technologies and 3D concepts out there, Futuresource Consulting announced the launch of a new market study outlining opportunities and challenges for 3D in cinema, broadcasting, TV display equipment, gaming, video content delivery and the outdoor advertising and digital signage industries. Hollywood's ultimate goal is to bring 3D Cinema into people's homes to fully maximize this revenue stream, as only 25-30 percent of the revenues a studio earns from a blockbuster film come from the box office. "Crucially, much of the backbone technology has arrived and is already in many people's homes, without them even realizing it," says Sarah Carroll, Director Strategy Consulting & Continuous Services, Futuresource Consulting

At the end of 2008, fiber optic communications (FTTx) had firmly established itself as a third viable and scalable global fixed broadband technology alongside DSL and Cable. Despite economic problems, operators will continue to build new networks, and the number of global FTTx subscriptions will almost triple between now and the end of 2013. But operators face some key challenges. While FTTx will experience some growth between now and 2013, many consumers are still unwilling to pay an excess for new FTTx services. In addition, most operators do not know if, how and when they will make a return on their investments. According to Informa Telecoms & Media, there were 49 million global Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), Fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) and Very high speed DSL (VDSL) subscriptions in 2008. This represents 11.6 percent of all fixed line subscriptions. While such figures may seem impressive, subscriptions are clustered in only a few countries and fiber is still not a reality for consu

Apparently 2008 was a difficult year for UltraWideBand (UWB) technology adoption, according to the latest market study by In-Stat. There are now four fewer UWB chip makers than there were in the middle of 2008, the high-tech market research firm says. A market recap: Focus Semiconductor declared bankruptcy; WiQuest shut its doors; Intel stopped its program; Artimi and then Staccato Communications merged at the urging of their venture capitalists. "This consolidation has been expected, but in combination with continued slow UWB device shipments, it raises the specter of the failure of UWB technology in the marketplace," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst. On the bright side, UWB-enabled mobile PCs showed impressive percentage growth, albeit from a very low starting point. Another positive development in 2008 was the settling of the worldwide regulatory structure and the consequent development of worldwide UWB chip stock keeping units (SKUs) from a number of chip makers.

Riding on the wave of high-speed broadband connectivity in leading markets within Asia-Pacific and Europe, plus the evolution of business and user requirements, television is no longer what it used to be. Trends are showing that interactive bi-directional television is increasing at the expense of legacy TV formats. According to new pay-TV market data from ABI Research, IPTV will grow by an estimated 32 percent annually over the next six years to nearly 79 million subscribers globally by the end of 2014. Satellite and cable TV are among the oldest and most important pay-TV platforms in many countries, and they are likely to retain their footholds in those markets for a long time. However, their growth rates will slow as IPTV gains momentum. ABI Research industry analyst Serene Fong observes that, "Some telecom operators which are faced with thinning margins are deploying high-speed access networking technologies to challenge incumbent satellite and cable operators." They do s

According to a Fitch Ratings market assessment, advertisers now have more options in the current economic environment than at any other time, and they are scaling back traditional high Cost Per Thousand (CPM) "impressions" oriented advertising campaigns. Even profitable marketers will use increased bargaining power to attain better rates and associated concessions from big media companies. The study offers trends and outlooks for several advertising sub-sectors, as follows: Newspapers Newspaper industry revenue growth will be negative for the foreseeable future as both ad pricing and linage will be under pressure within each of the four main components of newspaper revenue streams. More newspapers and newspaper groups will default, be shut down and be liquidated in 2009 and many cities could go without a daily print newspaper by 2010. Yellowpages Few markets will be able to support more than two print directories and most markets will eventually only be able to support one bo

Marketers of technology products and services have good reason to explore social media marketing techniques. Now eMarketer reports that corporations are finding that blogs can be instrumental tools for building solid relationships and gaining meaningful influence with their customers. Clearly, blogs are increasingly popular with both online consumers and people involved in business related procurement. According to an August 2008 study by BuzzLogic and JupiterResearch, there has been 300 percent growth rate in monthly blog readership over the past four years. In fact, nearly one-half of the online population reported reading blogs. The study also found that blogs have more impact on purchasing decisions than social networks. One-quarter of readers said they trust ads on a blog, as opposed to 19 percent who trust advertising on social networks. In addition, 40 percent of blog readers -- and 50 percent of frequent blog readers -- have proactively taken an action after viewing an ad mess

The Center for the Digital Future announced results from the latest Visual Networking Index (VNI) Pulse Survey, designed to assess worldwide consumer video behaviors and attitudes. The study highlights consumer video "consumption" and attitudes about video in the United States, urban China, Germany, and Sweden. Survey respondents answered questions about their level of access to media technology, the devices they used for "viewing" video, the amount of time they spent watching video on different devices, and the reasons they watch video content. "Our research identifies the innovative ways people are choosing to communicate, discover entertainment content, and access video information in different locations on multiple devices," said Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future. "Video is being added to more and more applications and showing up in more and more locations. We see a common thread that people are using video to remove glob

The camcorder market remains one of the most complex and dynamic Consumer Electronic (CE) categories, despite witnessing fairly modest unit growth in recent years. Now, the emergence of a new breed of low-cost, back-to-basics, pocket video camera (PVC) is connecting with consumers. "With the death knell sounding for traditional tape-driven camcorders and DVD giving way to HDD and Flash-based devices, it's the pocket video camera segment that's really leading the charge," says David Watkins, a senior analyst at Futuresource Consulting. Accounting for just 5 percent of total U.S., Japan and Western Europe camcorder shipments in 2006, they expect this to swell to 40 percent by 2010, equating to more than 7 million units shipped across the three regions next year. A range of factors is driving this step change, including the ever-increasing popularity of Web 2.0 sites with video upload capability -- as PVCs simply plug into a computer and the video can be uploaded dir

Speed is more likely to influence British customers to switch Broadband Service Providers (BSPs), according to a recent market study by Strategy Analytics. The study found that, despite high self-reported customer satisfaction levels, seventy percent of UK subscribers would gladly defect to another service provider for a higher speed offering. This survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2008. Strategy Analytics polled 500 UK broadband decision makers on the "three pillars" of customer churn -- customer satisfaction levels, propensity to churn and perceived obstacles to defecting. Respondents were presented with various broadband speed and price scenarios to gauge sensitivity. Sky Broadband customers had the highest overall satisfaction levels, with 87 percent reporting to be "very" or "somewhat" satisfied with the operator. "The study results underline the importance of access speed to the UK broadband consumer," said Ben Piper, analyst an

Laura Nurzynski, group vice president of IDC's Global Go-to-Market and Sales Enablement Services, will present insights and innovations in tactical marketing best practices at IDC Nordic Directions. IDC research shows that tactical marketing efforts will become one of the largest program allocations by technology companies by 2010, and for good reason. Nurzynski's presentation will explore ways to leverage that investment with marketing and sales best practices in the currently changing world of shifting budgets and reordered investment priorities. Additionally, IDC research demonstrates that there is a big gap between what you -- tech marketers -- are communicating to your audience, and what your audience needs from you to do their job. "Your prospects and customers have a message for you," said Nurzynski. "That message is 'When you ask for my time to hear about your solutions -- be credible and be relevant'." With constrained marketing budgets and

The global mobile phone handset market went into a tailspin in October and November, which will result in a nearly 5 percent year-over-year decline in unit shipments in Q4. While 2009 is likely to see more stormy economic weather, there are a few rays of sunshine. "The number of WCDMA and CDMA2000 mobile handsets sold -- currently 39 percent of the total -- is expected to exceed 50 percent in 2009," says ABI Research Asia-Pacific vice president Jake Saunders. Much of the brunt of the economic downturn will be experienced in the 2G categories. WCDMA handset shipments are projected to grow from 258 million in 2008 to 725 million in 2009. By 2013, more than 67 percent of all mobile phone handsets shipped will be 3G/3G+ capable. "Another robust segment is smartphones," adds practice director Kevin Burden. "Smartphones captured 14 percent of the 2008 market and are expected to grow throughout the challenging period of 2009 and comprise 31 percent of the market by 20

Apparently, 2008 was a growth year for the cellular modem market, as many wireless operators aggressively increased their 3G data service offerings. Consequently, 3G modem manufacturers enjoyed an upswing in demand with shipments reaching 20 million units in 2008, according to the latest market study from In-Stat. Two big trends are the move in form factor to USB modems and the growing emphasis on embedded modems, led by Ericsson and Qualcomm. Embedded shipments will overtake external modem shipments by the end of 2011. The result is increasing price erosion for external clients, especially in Western Europe, where Huawei has become a strong player. "Clearly, here is an instance where CAPEX investments in good times are paying dividends in lean years" says Daryl Schoolar, In-Stat analyst. "Operators continue to move forward with their mobile data subscription initiatives even as the economy suffers. This has put cellular modem manufacturers in a really nice place to be.&

TV browsers and applications such as rich media widgets were hot themes at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, but according to a recent Strategy Analytics market study consumers see open and flexible Video on Demand (VoD) services as the most valuable features of Internet TV. The research, carried out for Oregan Networks by the Strategy Analytics Digital Home Obervatory, also found that downloading widgets and customizing TV screens with skins were seen as the least valuable features. The study concluded that users expect TV browsers to be video-centric and offer quality equivalent to regular television. Despite concerns about privacy, 91 percent of respondents wanted to be able to access any multimedia website via their TV browser. Seventy four percent of respondents indicated a preference for these sites to be specially adapted as TV web channels. According to David Mercer, VP Digital Consumer Practice, "It's perhaps not surprising that TV viewers want to be able to

According to Reuters, Hollywood Studios are cutting back on their investment at trade events -- such as the annual Consumer Electronics Show -- as studios seek cheaper or more effective ways to sell movies and television programs. The shift has occurred as new alternative marketing strategies have displaced the old methods. Viral campaigns and digital marketing techniques, using videos and other rich media online, are creating the forward-looking momentum. Perhaps, more along the lines of the mystery-filled Web promos for the 2008 sci-fi movie Cloverfield . "As part of our larger cost containment initiatives, we're curtailing travel unless it's really critical for business reasons and I'd imagine that fewer people are going to conferences," said one studio executive, referring to CES as well as the Sundance Film festival and the National Association of Television Program Executives conference in Las Vegas. "Some of these shows have grown less relevant as prog

The 2009 International CES opened with the world's largest debut of consumer technology products, and keynote addresses from industry leaders. The world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology, runs through Sunday, January 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sony's president and CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, kicked off his opening keynote address at the 2009 International CES by unveiling the "CES Seven" -- key imperatives for creating the critical user experience. These included the concepts that products should interact seamlessly across industries, be service-based, multi-functional, support open technologies, advance the new shared experience, create new value chains and be green. Stringer said that Sony intends to create the total Sony experience so that by 2011, 90 percent of Sony's product categories will connect wirelessly to the Internet and to each other. To help illustrate Sony's cross-platform entertainment strategy, offering content and services at home

The keynote address from Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, his first at this event, no doubt set the mood on the eve of the 2009 International CES. Produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), it's still the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology. "The pre-CES events created an incredible buzz throughout Las Vegas and around the globe as the world waits in anticipation for the innovative products that will launch this week from the International CES," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. With 2,700 exhibitors, including 300 new technology companies, spanning 1.7 million net square feet of exhibit space, the products introduced at this year's CES are likely to further change the shape of the CE industry. During a market research presentation on Tuesday afternoon, CEA released the Global CE Sales and Forecast. According to new data from CEA and the Gfk Group, CEA projected worldwide revenue for consumer electronics will grow more than four p

The 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is held in Las Vegas this week. The annual trade show event features more than 2,700 consumer technology exhibitors in 30 product categories. Given the current state of the global networked economy, the show will likely have lower attendance. Consumers are growing more sophisticated in their purchasing habits for electronics and services, even as they rein in their total spending, according to the latest market study by Parks Associates. "By 2013, there will be over 140 million U.S. consumers paying for mobile broadband, which will extend video, communication, networking, and support services to all sorts of devices," said Kurt Scherf, vice president, principal analyst, Parks Associates. Parks Associates forecasts 4.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide by 2013, with many people using these devices as gateways for entertainment services, community information, and social networking. The increasing importance of the mobil

According to Infonetics Research, the IP contact center (IPCC) market will finish 2008 up 37 percent over 2007, with many vendors reporting robust sales, particularly in Asia Pacific. The Infonetics' report shows sales of unified communications (UC) products will end mixed in 2008, with unified messaging platform sales up and communicator software sales flat. Because of the deterioration in economic activity worldwide, enterprise spending on telephony products is expected to slow in 2009, which will also pull down the overall UC and IPCC markets, although the IPCC and communicator segments will weather the economic downturn better than others. "The communicator market continues to be fluid, with growth not yet following established patterns and market share positions shifting one period to the next as PBX vendors battle each other and Microsoft," said Matthias Machowinski, Infonetics Research's directing analyst for enterprise voice and data. It's an exciting mark

Despite turmoil in world financial markets over the last year, the trillion dollar mobile industry continues to confound expectations with accelerating growth, according to a new market study by Portio Research. Their new report reveals that over half the world now uses a mobile phone and predicts that 80 percent of the world's population will be doing so by the end of 2013 -- a staggering 5.8 billion people. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of worldwide mobile markets, growth forecasts plus network operator and handset vendor market shares. Among the top 20 growth markets ranking list (2007-2013) there are few surprises. China wins the top spot, just ahead of India. These two countries are expected to contribute over 1 billion additional subscribers during this time. Brazil comes in a distant third with 132 million additional subscribers over the same period. Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, are also expected to experience high growth estimated at CAGR 13.3 p

The switchover to digital television (DTV) broadcast transmissions will reduce coverage, and therefore viewers, within many markets of the United States. People are unaware of the consequences of this transition -- including most TV advertisers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released two reports that show changes in the coverage of the nation's full-power television stations as they prepare to transition from analog to digital broadcasting on February 17, 2009. The FCC initiated this side-by-side comparison to proactively identify the changes associated with the switch to digital broadcasting by TV stations and share the information with consumer viewers throughout the country. "It is critical that broadcasters use the information in these reports to inform their viewers about how changes in their coverage may affect them," stated FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. "We expect broadcasters to make this information readily available and include it in all of thei

Marketing and sales executives in technology firms aspire to develop a meaningful relationship with the CIOs in their target enterprise accounts. But, according to a Forrester Research market study, most CIOs believe technology firms remain "just another vendor to deal with." Why, you may ask? Because the marketing messages and sales methodologies assume the CIO thinks just like a target buyer. Apparently, the very nature of the CIO position, and their views of success and failure, put vendors in a very different perspective. Forrester says that vendors can improve receptiveness to their CIO message if they understand how these executives measure a company's offering benefits, gauge its fit with their existing organization, and perceive how a relationship will benefit them. Clearly, this perspective raises questions about all those vendors who like to believe they're "trusted advisers" to their business technology customer base. Forrester believes a typical