Digital Lifescapes

No to be confused with the typical 'dumb' set-top box devices used by the legacy pay-TV sector, innovative new devices are being introduced into the global streaming video entertainment marketplace. Creative hardware design and imaginative software user experience enhancements will transform this product category. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, the smart set-top box and dongle market is expected to pass 18 million units in 2013 -- that's higher than originally forecast, due to the arrival of the Google Chromecast. Overall the market is expected to grow with a 10.8 percent CAGR (from 2013 to 2018) with less saturated and developing -- from a new product perspective -- markets like Asia-Pacific and Latin America helping drive this growth. "Despite stiff competition from a range of connected consumer electronics (CE) devices, the smart set-top box and dongle market offers an equally compelling user experience often at significantly lower price...

4G Americas reports that LTE has now been commercially launched on 200 mobile networks worldwide in 78 countries and that number is expected to grow to 250 networks by the end of 2013. The surge in LTE deployments will result in more than 100 new LTE networks launched in 2013 alone. Additionally, the evolution of LTE to LTE-Advanced has been commercially launched on two networks to date. Some analysts expect numerous LTE-Advanced networks to be launched by the end of this year as mobile network operators deploy one or more of the enhanced features of the standard. “Telia Sonera, in Norway and Sweden, was the first mobile network operator to commercially launch LTE in December 2009 and today the groundswell of commercial deployments continues as government regulators allocate and auction new spectrum," said Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas . Carrier Aggregation appears to be a very popular feature for operators deploying LTE-Advanced, as it provides the capability to...

Using mobile devices -- such as smartphones and tablets -- in the workplace creates new data protection challenges for the IT manager. As a result, the Mobile Security Management (MSM) market is emerging as a strong, fledgling sub-market of Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM). As Mobile Device Management (MDM) evolves into application and content management, the core driver for this evolution is the demand for greater security around corporate assets -- wherever they may reside and regardless of format. Concerns for data leak prevention, access control, compliance reporting, and monitoring are pushing EMM providers to increasingly provide more security-based mobility features to their existing solutions, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. The increasing demand for security is enabling vendors to differentiate their offerings and stand out from the competition. But the window for MSM is short -- security will become a basic requirement for all EMM solutions and...

Demand for multiple mobile profiles presents sizable opportunities in both developing and developed markets. In emerging markets, using more than one SIM card is common and is mainly driven by bargain hunting. In Botswana, for instance, the number of mobile subscriptions reached 152 percent of the population in 2012, even though only 66 percent of the population used mobile phones -- meaning that most mobile users held more than one SIM card. Savvy mobile network operators that are addressing the demand in three ways: dual-SIM handsets, traveler offers and virtual numbers -- according to the latest market study by Pyramid Research. The recent comprehensive study examined the multiple identities opportunity and how mobile network service providers are addressing it. Incentives for multiple mobile identities are different in developing and developed markets and the study took an in depth look at three main approaches to address the market. This assessment included case studies ...

Some large internet application providers increasingly source their own infrastructure from Asia-Pacific ODM/OEM vendors. Telecom network operators with tens of billions more revenue now look at the IT ecosystem and seek to benefit from what ABI Research calls the WebScale economies. In some ways, Telcos can emulate the in-house networking hardware design and development of WebScale firms -- such as Google, Facebook and Amazon -- and in other ways they cannot. It is no secret that much of the telecom infrastructure is based on the Intel x86 Xeon architecture and many of the Network Functions fit very well into a server architecture. In their latest global market study, ABI Research looked at the pros and cons of telecom operators seeking commercial "white box" IT hardware for their core network elements. The findings support inclusion of more commercial IT into the mobile broadband network and deployment with a top-tier IT vendor to minimize risk and uncertainty. ...

According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, the smartphone operating system (OS) market will see new emerging players in the coming years gain ground -- such as Asha, Sailfish and HTML 5 based OS players. In the near term, the global market is expected to be dominated by Android and iOS. Juniper argues that these new OS contenders will built upon important market niches -- focusing on cost innovation and utilizing local knowledge -- in synergy with the next generation of consumers that seek mobile internet access. Over time, this focus on creating smartphone offerings for targeted market segments may begin the slow decline of the current global OS leaders. The Global Smartphone Duopoly In terms of smartphone shipments, Apple and Samsung will continue to dominate the global market, shipping 17 percent more smartphones in 2018 than were shipped globally by all vendors in 2012. The Juniper Research study found that Apple and Samsung global smartphone shipment...

In a crowded market of too many media tablet devices to choose from, where do you go to find the best value? To discover the answer, nineteen of the world’s leading media tablet vendors went head-to-head in the latest vendor matrix from market intelligence firm ABI Research. This matrix ranked companies on several criteria related to both product Implementation and vendor Innovation. The overall current leader in this tablet Competitive Assessment was Samsung Electronics. The Korean-based computing and consumer electronics conglomerate bested all other tablet vendors in the Innovation category while scoring second overall in the Implementation category. Clearly king of the hill when it comes to tablet shipment volumes, Apple trailed Samsung on tablet Innovation landing in second. The two leading makers have continued to distance themselves from other tablet vendors, reflected visually in the results grouping of vendors for this assessment. In third place, overall, for the vendo...

The mobile applications economy is growing rapidly, thanks to the increased adoption of smartphones and media tablets. In 2017, it's forecast that over $75 billion will be spent on consumer mobile apps, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. This growth will be largely as a result of the in-app purchase model gaining continued traction across many markets, and the impact of new monetization models used by app developers and storefronts. Fiercely Competitive Apps Ecosystem Their market study explored how the growing app ecosystem will be strengthened as storefronts -- such as Microsoft and Amazon -- attempt to advance against the effective duopoly which Apple and Google presently have in the global marketplace. The intensifying competition will lead to the release of new features within these stores, such as better search and discovery tools, encouraging developers to write their apps for the more peripheral stores. How to Make Money with Mobile Apps ...

​Smart homes will become a key component of growth with the Internet of Everything. By 2018, annual home automation device shipments will exceed 351 million -- growing at a CAGR of 78 percent, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. ZigBee dominated IEEE 802.15.4 and claimed the top share of node shipments at 4.5 million, narrowly beating out proprietary protocol offerings. "ZigBee is enjoying success in the home automation market because, as an open standard technology, multiple IC vendors are creating ZigBee chipsets," said Adarsh Krishnan, Senior analyst at ABI Research . Quite simply, open standard technologies are considered less risky and highly scalable when compared to the closed ecosystems of proprietary RF technologies. Another wireless communication protocol that has gained traction in the home automation market is Z-Wave. Recent managed service initiatives that offer home automation as a service are using the Z-Wave protocol to connect low-po...

Proving once again that nothing lasts forever in the highly competitive mobile sector, Apple's share in the worldwide smartphone operating system market posted a year-over-year decline during the second quarter of 2013 (2Q13). Meanwhile, Android and Windows Phone both managed slight increases during the same period. According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), vendors shipped a total of 236.4 million smartphones in 2Q13 -- that's up 51.3 percent from the 156.2 million units shipped in 2Q12. Second quarter shipments grew 9.3 percent when compared to the 216.3 million units shipped in 1Q13. "Without a new product launch since the debut of the iPhone 5 nearly a year ago, Apple’s market share was vulnerable to product launches from the competition," said Ramon Llamas, research manager at IDC . The market continues to evolve. Last quarter Windows Phone shipments surpassing BlackBerry and the trend has continued into the second quarter...

Many countries around the world still have relatively high-priced wireline broadband access to the internet that's a barrier to increased mainstream adoption -- it's expensive to install and to use. In contrast, mobile internet access via a smartphone is more attainable. Low cost smartphones -- defined as those smartphones with a wholesale price below $200 -- are increasingly appearing in OEM and operator portfolios in both emerging and developed markets. In many developing nations, the availability of these devices is a catalyst to socioeconomic advancement. It can change lives, for the better, by helping to free people from poverty. The ultimate upside opportunity for mobile network operators is for low-cost smartphones to drive adoption in emerging markets where handset subsidization and disposable income are scarce. Market intelligence firm ABI Research forecasts low cost smartphone shipments to grow from 238 million in 2013 to 758 million by 2018, driven by the low...

How can second-tier mobile device manufacturers innovate in a global marketplace that's dominated by the presence of two vendors that guide industry standards, shape design principles and lead the efforts of an established applications ecosystem? The current assessment is that this continues to be a challenging scenario. The ​ABI Research device portal sales channel analysis reveals tough times are ahead for most smartphone vendors, as the balance of power remains with Samsung and Google Android -- combined with the legacy Apple iPhone and iOS influence. The smartphone market is entering a new, more mature stage in its growth, where execution rules over innovation. Samsung is dominating the mobile sales channel, with more than double the number devices on offer than any other vendor across the 13 markets and multiple online retailers studied. "Our analysis showed that Samsung is dominating the sales channel at nearly every price point, with only Apple challenging Sa...

Media tablets may have reached market saturation in several markets -- particularly those made by Apple. Worldwide tablet shipment growth has slowed in the second quarter of 2013 (2Q13), according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Worldwide tablet shipments finally experienced a sequential decline as total volumes fell -9.7 percent from 1Q13. However, the 45.1 million units shipped in the second quarter was up 59.6 percent from the same quarter in 2012, when tablet vendors shipped 28.3 million devices. Lacking a new product launch in March to help spur shipments, Apple's iPad saw a lower-than-predicted shipment total of 14.6 million units for the quarter -- that's down from 19.5 million in 1Q13. In years past, Apple has launched a new tablet heading into the second quarter, which resulted in strong quarter-over-quarter growth. Now, Apple is expected to launch new tablet products in the second half of the year, a move that better positions...

The internet security sector has many evolving challenges. As an example, protecting children and teenagers that are online is a growing concern for parents, educators, and public administrators. Meanwhile, the number of digital platforms that young people can use to access the Internet is constantly increasing: smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles are popular connected platforms adding to the existing PC and laptop vectors. Cyber bullying and grooming, violent and inappropriate content, exposure of personal data, and privacy violations are all too common threats. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, low parental knowledge and lack of adequate cyber education for children is prompting a surge in demand for filtering, blocking, and control technologies. The child online protection and parental control market is a lucrative one. The drivers for growth are inherently affected by many different cultural, educational, moral, and personal factors. Consequently...

Fans of recorded music that are already paying for on-demand streaming services will total 29 million people worldwide at the end of 2013, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Accounting for 32 percent of the premium music service subscribers, Spotify is expected to close the year as the leader -- trailed by Deezer, SK Telecom’s MelOn, and rounded out by Rhapsody and Sony. Moreover, the high-growth cloud music services subscriber base is forecasted to reach 191 million by the end of 2018. "The past two years have seen a remarkable international expansion of streaming as a distribution model, but in terms of its long-term potential we’re still only scratching the surface," said Aapo Markkanen, senior analyst at ABI Research . That’s also something to stress when discussing the role of cloud music services as a potential source of recording artist income. At end-2013 the cumulative revenue from premium service subscriptions will amount to less than $5...

According to findings from the latest market study by Juniper Research, new analysis has revealed a high growth surge expected in the emerging Smart Wireless Accessory sector. The new study found that shipments of app-enabled smart wireless accessories will approach 170 million by the end of 2018, compared to over 18 million this year. At that time the market will be dominated by consumer electronics (CE) and fitness accessories, although in the longer run healthcare smart wireless accessories are expected to gain most traction. Emerging Consumer Electronic Markets Juniper noted that significant growth is expected across a very wide breadth of applications, comprising areas as diverse as video eyewear, baby monitoring, home security & monitoring and TV transmission equipment. "The actual take up of CE smart wireless accessories will depend on whether companies succeed in creating accessories that will capture the imagination of the consumer," said Nitin Bhas, se...

Wireless connectivity technology continues to evolve to accommodate the communication needs of a variety of new digital devices. As an example, annual shipments of 802.15.4 enabled devices are forecast to grow more than five times from 2012 to 2018 -- with a CAGR of over 30 percent. ZigBee continues to be the primary driver toward standardization and interoperability and will see further strong growth across many markets, accounting for almost 80 percent of total 802.15.4-enabled device shipments in 2018. "It’s been quite a turbulent time for ZigBee over the last couple of years," said Peter Cooney, practice director at ABI Research . Markets that seemed to be sure-fire bets for rapid growth -- such as smart meters -- have not delivered what was expected, while smart home markets continue to flourish. There are a number of markets that the ZigBee Alliance and its members have targeted, and many standards have been developed to address them. To date, most of the focu...

The mobile payments market has long been an attractive opportunity, and mobile service providers have been facilitating payments for content services for many years. Mobile payment services such as ticketing and contactless payments have been available in some markets since the late 1990s or early 2000s. More advanced m-payments services -- typically targeting customers in the developed world -- such as m-wallet and associated value-added services, can generate significant revenue for mobile network operators in the long-run. However, it is important to acknowledge that not all mobile operators can launch these services successfully and make them mass market, according to the latest market study by Pyramid Research. Their new report highlights the differences between the banked and unbanked, and provides a broader context for mobile operators in general. Pyramid Research took a closer look at mobile payments, such as the traditional card payment process, the benefits of mobile ...

Infonetics Research released the key findings from its latest market study, which include a forecast and analysis of the cable pay-TV, satellite pay TV, and telco internet protocol television (IPTV) services markets. "Thanks to strong momentum mostly in the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China - pay-TV revenue and subscribers continue to grow in the face of mounting cable subscriber losses in North America and Western Europe, where pay-TV providers are in danger of being relegated to the role of content aggregator," said Jeff Heynen, principal analyst at Infonetics Research. To stem the subscriber losses, incumbent MSOs including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and UPC are introducing new services, like home automation and multi-screen video to reduce subscriber churn and generate top-line revenue growth, in addition to deploying new technologies to lower the capex required to deliver broadcast video. Highlights from the latest market study include: Pay-TV pro...

Machine to machine (M2M) applications growth continues on an upward trajectory. Cellular M2M connections are set to reach over 450 million by 2018, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Europe dragged down worldwide connection growth in 2011 and 2012 to the high teens, but with improving world economics connection growth will accelerate to a CAGR of 26 percent through 2018. However, recent connection growth has come in the face of declining connection ARPUs. "The market for M2M connections can be classified as very competitive to hyper-competitive depending on the country," said Dan Shey, practice director at ABI Research . As a result, connection ARPUs have declined dramatically over the last two years as operators fight for M2M business. Contributing to the pain of declining ARPUs has been slower than expected migration to 3G and 4G technologies which offer better margins per megabit of traffic. Over 70 percent of cellular M2M connections were on...

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 6.0 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2013 (2Q13). According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), vendors shipped a total of 432.1 million mobile phones in 2Q13 compared to 407.7 million units in the second quarter of 2012. The 2Q13 total was also slightly higher than the 428.8 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2013. The growth in the mobile phone market was partly driven by vendors from outside the top five, who experienced torrid shipment growth that outpaced the overall market. Several vendors had high double- and triple-digit growth rates in the second quarter for their Android-based offerings shipped to high-growth countries such as China and India. In 2Q13, these vendors from outside the Top 5 accounted for 44.8 percent of the overall shipment volume, up from 42.2 percent in the same quarter one year ago. In the worldwide smartphone market, vendors shipped 237.9 million units in 2Q13 compared to th...

The traditional pay-TV services market continues to evolve, as over-the-top video streaming providers expand their offerings across the globe. The competition is also prompting the legacy pay-TV companies to invest in infrastructure for new capabilities. Infonetics Research released excerpts from its Broadcast and Streaming Video Equipment and Pay TV Subscribers market study, which tracks pay-TV subscribers and video equipment sold to telco IPTV, cable, and satellite service providers. "With competition and content heating up, pay-TV providers are transitioning their traditional, broadcast-focused video processing environments to ones that can ingest, process, deliver, and decode video content from multiple sources," said Jeff Heynen, principal analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research . At the same time, content owners and studios are also adjusting their workflow and video output to support multiscreen and streaming services. The net result of t...