Digital Lifescapes

Emerging vehicle-to-vehicle technology based on Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) -- using the IEEE 802.11p automotive W-Fi standard -- will gradually be introduced in new vehicles, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Vehicular communication systems are a new type of wireless network in which vehicles and roadside units are the communicating nodes -- providing each other with information, such as safety warnings and traffic information. As a cooperative approach, these interactive automated systems can be used for emergency alerts -- to help avoid highway accidents and upcoming traffic congestion. This proposed technology deployment will be driven by government policy mandates and/or automotive industry initiatives, resulting in a penetration rate of 61.8 percent by 2027. "In the U.S. market there is a real possibility for a Department of Transportation mandate, depending on the outcome of the large scale V2X trial being held in Michigan," s...

As anticipated, performance of the personal computer (PC) market in 2013 is in line with earlier forecasts -- following the significant trends of last year -- with a few exceptions. According to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), their assessment reveals slower than expected growth in China during the first quarter of 2013 (1Q13). Although the slowdown is partially due to the timing of Chinese New Year and other expected factors, new budget cuts from the government as well as anti-corruption measures are slowing purchases more than expected. March should recover somewhat in China, but not enough to offset the weak February results. With China now the top PC market worldwide -- accounting for over 21 percent of global shipments in 2012 -- the slow February results and likely impact on March are expected to lower first quarter global PC shipments by roughly 2 percent from recent forecasts. Other monthly results indicate close-to-forecast mar...

Last year was another record breaker for mobile internet usage. Total global mobile network data traffic had amounted to 13,412 petabytes by the end of 2012 -- that's an increase of 69 percent year-on-year. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, 3G mobile network data usage occupied 46 percent of the total with an increase of 130 percent year-on-year. 4G LTE mobile network traffic is accelerating, with a growth rate of 207 percent in 2013 compared to 99 percent for 3G traffic. "In developed markets, 4G is rapidly gaining traction. Verizon Wireless, for example, has reported that 50 percent of its data usage is on 4G LTE," said Marina Lu, research associate at ABI Research . Underpinning mobile data usage are smartphone apps -- their downloads, and the traffic usage they generate, has become a significant contributor to mobile data traffic. Smartphone app downloads were 36.2 billion for 2012, that's up by 88 percent compared to 2011. Asia-Pac...

Shipments of connected vehicle infotainment systems will grow from 9 million in 2013 to more than 62 million in 2018, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. These systems include connected navigation, multimedia streaming, social media, and in-car Wi-Fi hotspots becoming key features that automobile manufacturers would install in vehicles. "Open platforms continue their march forward," said Dominique Bonte, VP and practice director at ABI Research . While the GENIVI consortium (open source common automotive infotainment reference platform) and the Car Connectivity Consortium (MirrorLink screen replication technology) somewhat struggle to find momentum, the car industry is now turning its attention to HTML5 and Google Android. Both Renault (R-Link) and Volvo (Sensus Connected Touch platform based on Parrot’s Asteroid Smart) are embracing heavily modified versions of the Google Android operating system. In a similar vein, automotive applications and app...

Infonetics Research released excerpts of the findings that resulted from its latest global market study, which analyzed wireless communications radio frequency spectrum allocation and needs in the world’s top economies. “Seven years ago the International Telecommunication Union predicted the world would need twice as much radio frequency spectrum as is allocated now, and that was even before the advent of the data-hungry Apple iPhone," said Stéphane Téral, principal analyst at Infonetics Research . But if the ITU forecast had held true, all mobile communications networks with significant broadband usage would have crashed by now.Clearly, that prediction never came to pass. So, what happened? HSPA+ and LTE are two of the primary reasons why mobile network operators have been able to squeeze more and more capacity out of their limited spectrum allocation. HSPA/HSPA+ and LTE improve spectral efficiency so significantly that the need for spectrum has been greatly reduced -- of...

A surge of smaller and lower-priced media tablets has led International Data Corporation (IDC) to increase its 2013 forecast for the worldwide tablet market to 190.9 million -- that's up from its previous forecast of 172.4 million units. Increases in tablet shipments have been made throughout the forecast period with an average increase of 11 percent between 2013 and 2016. The latest IDC forecast estimates tablet shipments to be upwards of 350 million by the end of 2017. "One in every two tablets shipped this quarter was below 8 inches in screen size. And in terms of shipments, we expect smaller tablets to continue growing in 2013 and beyond," said Jitesh Ubrani, research analyst at IDC . Vendors are moving quickly to compete in this space as consumers realize that these small tablets are often more ideal than larger devices for their daily media consumption needs. Once again, Google android-based tablets expanded their share of the market in 2012, and IDC expects...

​Media tablet apps will generate $8.8 billion in revenue in 2013, compared to the $16.4 billion expected from smartphone apps, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Of the combined $25 billion applications revenue, 65 percent will come from Apple’s iOS ecosystem, 27 percent from Google’s Android, and the remaining 8 percent from the other mobile device platforms. As part of a main trend, media tablet apps will steadily increase their share of the market over the coming years. Tablets will, in 2017, nearly match the smartphone application revenues and surpass them by 2018 -- when the combined revenue base for both device types will reach $92 billion. "The dynamic is quite straightforward," says Aapo Markkanen, senior analyst at ABI Research . "The larger screen makes apps and content look and feel better, so there are more lucrative opportunities." One might think that the bigger installed base of smartphones would compensate for the dispari...

According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, a growing user acceptance of push mobile banking and a sharp rise in media tablet adoption will drive users of transactional mobile banking services to almost 200 million in 2017. The tablet user base will represent approximately 19 percent of total mobile banking customers in 2017, compared to 9 percent this year -- as consumers engage in increasingly mobile lifestyles. The study found that adoption of bill presentment and payment (MBPP) transactional banking by tablet users will be higher than mobile phone users, especially in developed areas where there is a higher adoption of tablet devices. Juniper also found that as consumer tablet adoption continues to rise, there will be significant migration of purchasing and transaction activity from laptop and desktop PCs to media tablets. Indeed, the development of the couch-commerce trend in the payments industry will be increasingly replicated within the banking industry...

Brazil is still one of the most promising high-growth digital media markets in Latin America. comScore released data from their latest market study of the nation. They examined how the prevailing trends in web usage, social media, online video, digital advertising, mobile and search are defining the current marketplace and how they are likely to shape the coming year. “The Brazilian digital landscape saw significant change in 2012 led by the strong emergence of Social Networking, in addition to increasing media consumption in terms of online video and display advertising,” said Alex Banks, comScore managing director for Brazil and VP Latin America. As these media vehicles continue to grow, they are providing new and exciting opportunities for publishers hoping to attract audiences and marketers seeking to reach consumers. Key insights from the latest market study include: Consumers in Brazil spent more than 27 hours per month online on their desktop computers, representing ...

Once again, according to the findings from the latest market study, smartphone adoption continues to rise in America. comScore reported key trends in the U.S. smartphone industry during the three month average period ending January 2013. Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 37.8 percent OEM market share, while Google Android led as the number one smartphone platform with 52.3 percent platform market share. 129.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (55 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in January -- that's up by 7 percent since October 2012. Apple ranked as the top OEM with 37.8 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers  -- that's up by 3.5 percentage points from October 2012. Samsung ranked second with 21.4 percent market share (up by 1.9 percentage points), followed by HTC with 9.7 percent share, Motorola with 8.6 percent and LG with 7 percent (up by 0.3 percentage points). Google Android ranked as the top sma...

How do you prosper in a highly competitive world where talent, creativity and imaginative ideas are the most important commercial currencies? Can spawning new digital technology start-ups act as a lasting stimulus in an otherwise ailing economy within a developed nation? These are questions that are top-of-mind for me. It’s an intriguing topic for others as well. It seems that supporting high-tech entrepreneurs is now viewed by many political leaders, from all parts of the globe, as a potent public policy remedy that may help them solve their local economic development challenges – particularly a lingering high unemployment rate. As I walked through the exhibits on the South by Southwest ( SXSW ) trade show floor, I wondered what all these national and regional public sector agencies hoped to achieve with their presence at this year’s Interactive festival in Austin, Texas. From my own trend-spotting perspective, what was the big attraction this year? Once again, the “SXSW Start...

The good news for people who needed to replace an old Windows-based PC was that if you search online you can still find refurbished new PCs that had Windows 7 installed. Otherwise, ongoing demand for PCs with the leading operating system was weak. Despite the intense industry efforts to overcome market inertia, 2012 nonetheless ended badly -- with global PC shipment volume shrinking 3.7 percent, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). With dramatically lower than forecast adoption of Windows 8 during the 2012 holiday season, and continued pressure from low-cost media tablets, IDC now expects PC shipments to decline further by 1.3 percent in 2013. Disappointing holiday sales to consumers, an underwhelming reception to the Windows 8 launch and reduced IT budgets characterized the market during the second half of 2012 -- leading to a year-on-year decline of 8.3 percent in fourth quarter shipments. Furthermore, emerging market growth ...

The Internet of Things (IoT) phenomenon is all about connecting the many previously unconnected devices in our world. Moreover, the majority of those new IP connections will likely occur over wireless technology. Some of those connections will be short-range. When combined together, all the wireless applications will create a significant demand for semiconductors with embedded radio transceivers. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, the total market for integrated circuits (ICs) that are based on open short-range wireless (SRW) technology -- such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, NFC and GPS -- is expected to reach almost 5 billion units in 2013 and grow to nearly 8 billion by 2018. This includes standalone wireless connectivity ICs, wireless connectivity combo ICs, and also platforms with integrated wireless connectivity. "In the year where cumulative Bluetooth enabled device shipments will reach 10 billion and cumulative Wi-Fi enabled device shipments will re...

Revenues from mobile content -- monetized through direct billing by mobile network service providers -- is expected to rise from $2 billion last year to more than $13 billion by 2017, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. The Juniper study uncovered that network operator storefronts and portals accounted for just 6 percent of content downloads worldwide, with Google Play and the Apple App Store now comprising nearly 70 percent combined market share. In fact, the increasing popularity of of these successful Over-the-Top (OTT) mobile device application distribution platforms had led to many operators closing their own storefronts. However, Juniper also found that by offering carrier billing to third-party storefronts, mobile network operators could more than offset the continued decline in portal revenues. Moreover, storefronts which have already integrated carrier billing solutions have seen a 5-6 times increase in conversion rates compared with credit car...

This year will provide an incremental lift for the savvy independent software developers that create apps mobile device users will crave. For the most successful developers, the upside opportunities for revenue growth is significant. The market continues to expand, with few signs of app saturation. The annual volume of smartphone app downloads will reach 56 billion in 2013, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. When comparing the performance of smartphone operating system (OS) platforms, ABI discovered that Google Android will account for 58 percent of the total, with Apple iOS commanding an annual share of 33 percent. Microsoft’s Windows Phone will finish the year with a thin slice that reached less than than 4 percent, with BlackBerry trailing it with just 3 percent market share. In the meantime, ABI forecasts that mobile users will download around 14 billion media tablet apps during this year. In the tablet segment, ABS believes that the Apple iPad lead -- ...

The various utility applications for communications networks and associated investment in infrastructure will grow rapidly in 2013, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Moreover, spending by utilities transitioning their networks to Smart Grid capabilities reached $23.68 billion in 2012. Highlighting the growing momentum behind the spending, the 2012 total alone represents 48 percent of Smart Grid spending to date. During the year, spending on transmission and distribution capabilities surpassed smart meter investments as utilities increasingly looked to improve their core networks and maximize the benefits of their growing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) deployments. "Utilities are investing in the roll-out of a broad assortment of new applications and spending is driving new services from a wide range of vendors and consultants,” says Jonathan Collins, principal analyst at ABI Research . The complexity of the new hardware, applications, and the...

When we take a holistic view of smartphones, tablets, and PCs, one thing is obvious -- notebook and netbook PCs are no longer a driving force in personal or business mobility application growth. According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), vendors shipped 367.7 million desktop PCs, portable PCs, tablets, and smartphones -- collectively called "Smart Connected Devices" -- in the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12), that combined market was up by 28.3 percent from the prior year. As desktop PCs and portable PCs declined -- by -4.1 percent and -3.4 percent respectively -- the overall smart connected device space continued to surge to just over 1.2 billion shipments cumulatively in 2012. Tablet shipments experienced the largest year-over-year growth in 2012, that's up 78.4 percent over 2011, while smartphones grew 46.1 percent but accounted for 60.1 percent of all smart connected devices shipped throughout the year. After finishing 2011 seco...

According to the latest market study by Portio Research , the mobile apps business has matured. The worldwide apps market generated an impressive $12 billion in 2012, and in total 46 billion apps were downloaded in the year. That is certainly an indication of a market in rapid growth. Just consider that the all-time cumulative total number of downloads stood at 37 billion at the end of 2011, but reached 83 billion by the end of 2012 -- more than doubling in one year. So in 2012, more apps were downloaded last year than in the previous 5 years all added together. That being said, the app doubling phenomenon is forecast to happen once again in 2013. Portio's new forecast predicts that 2013 will see 82 billion apps downloaded worldwide, taking the cumulative total to 165 billion apps by the end of this year. Revenues are set for rapid growth too, after 2012 saw full-year app revenues of $12 billion, in 2013 Portio forecasts worldwide app revenues to reach $20.4 billion. From t...

Over-the-top (OTT) video entertainment had a banner year in 2012. It became a turning point for legacy pay-TV service providers. The savvy companies acknowledged the OTT phenomenon and have learned to adapt to the new market realities. The laggards are slowly coming to the conclusion that nothing will halt the market fragmentation caused by the adoption of OTT content. Meanwhile, it looks like 2013 will be just as disruptive as last year. comScore released data from its latest market study which demonstrates that nearly 180 million U.S. Internet users watched 36.2 billion online content videos in January, while the number of video advertising views reached 9.1 billion. Top 10 Video Content Properties by Unique Viewers Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in January with 150 million unique viewers, followed by Facebook.com with 57 million, VEVO with 50.1 million, NDN with 49.1 million and Yahoo! Sites with...

​During the fourth quarter of 2012, the LTE subscription rate in Asia-Pacific increased by 60.92 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), reaching 34.6 million. ABI Research forecasts that the LTE subscription market will continue to grow rapidly in 2013 -- to reach 72.1 million. “The operators in South Korea have aggressively promoted LTE since launch," said Marina Lu, research associate at ABI Research . For example, SK Telecom, the largest operator in terms of subscriptions, had gained 7 million LTE subscribers by the end of 2012, and aims to secure 13 million by the end of 2013, a feat that will mean 50 percent of its subscribers will be on LTE. The Asia-Pacific 4G cellular market still has considerable potential. In 4Q-2012, Asia-Pacific had notched up 3.45 billion subscriptions, up 8.7 percent year-on-year (YoY), resulting in a cellular penetration of 87.5 percent. "The strong growth trend of mobile subscription is expected to keep up until 2015, where it will surpas...

Demand for wearable computing devices are forecast to grow rapidly over the next year. With a wave of new gadgets set to reach the consumer electronics market, it's very possible that this technology could become commonplace within five years. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, they now forecast that the wearable computing device market will grow to 485 million annual device shipments by 2018. Currently, sports and activity trackers account for the vast majority of wearable technologies shipped. Smart activity trackers are widely available, and this device's trendy and stylish appearance makes them very popular with a broad range of customers. It's estimated that 61 percent of the wearable technologies market is attributed to sport or activity related trackers in 2013. Smartphone compatible watches are beginning to emerge, and it has been reported that Apple may have plans to release a smart watch some time this year. Furthermore, it has been ...

The gaming industry has changed dramatically over the past decade. A new study of the mobile games market has highlighted the pivotal role of media tablets in the future growth prospects of this fast moving and evolving industry. The rapid adoption of tablets, combined with the growing acceptance of in-game purchasing and virtual currencies, will result in an estimated $3.03 billion of sales by 2016 -- reaching over ten times the $301 million figure calculated for 2012. According to the latest assessment by Juniper Research, which studied the impact of mobile games on the wider video games industry, found that there had been a clear migration of users from dedicated portable gaming devices across to tablets, and to some extent, smartphones. The freemium model, which is being embraced by many tablet users, cannot be implemented as easily on portable gaming devices, because games must be purchased upfront and the devices themselves often do not allow for a 3G or 4G cellular network...