Digital Lifescapes

Findings from a worldwide market study by Juniper Research highlights the growing disparity between traffic volumes and revenues in the mobile messaging market. Despite accounting for 75 percent of the traffic -- or 63 trillion messages -- by 2018, Instant Messaging (IM) apps will only generate 2 percent of the mobile messaging market's revenue. It's easy to be distracted by the recent media hype and miss the key significance of this market development opportunity. The service provider revenue from mobile messaging is not the big story here, and neither is the Facebook acquisition of WhatsApp. I believe it's how mobile messaging will transform marketing communications. Let me explain. Impact of Exploding Mobile IM Adoption The findings from the Juniper market study stated that the increasingly high IM traffic volumes are the result of a number of key factors that should be on the radar for all savvy marketers. Chief among those findings is the fact that usage of m

The smartphone market passed an important milestone in 2013 when worldwide shipments surpassed the one billion mark for the first time, driven by continued momentum from Google Android and Apple iOS. According to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), Android and iOS accounted for 95.7 percent of all smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2013 (4Q13), and for 93.8 percent of all smartphone shipments for the whole year. This marked a 4.5-point increase from the 91.2 percent share that the two platforms shared in 4Q12, and a 6.1-point increase from the 87.7 percent share they had in all 2012. "Clearly, there was strong end-user demand for both Android and iOS products during the quarter and the year," said Ramon Llamas, research manager at IDC . What stands out are the different routes Google and Apple took to meet this demand. Android relied on its long list of OEM partners, a broad and deep collection of devices, and price point

Going mobile is a key strategy for many leading providers within the online gambling space. For countless others, mobile will assume a greater role in the short to medium term -- and that's not surprising, given how other apps have leveraged the mobile channel. Juniper Research has found that annual wagers via mobile phones and media tablets on casino-type gambling and poker games are expected to reach $62 billion globally by 2018 -- that's a sixfold increase on the $10 billion wagered last year. According to their latest market study, the primary driver will be legalization of selected online gambling services in the previously untapped U.S. market, which is expected to see a host of service launches over the next five years. Juniper believes that successful mobile casino launches in U.S. markets such as Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, will prompt other states -- those currently adopting a ‘wait-and-see’ stance -- to begin legislating for online or mobile gambling. Fu

As the potential for smart wearable devices continues to draw new entrants into the market, it is the sports and healthcare functionality that seems to dominate shipments and drives future wearable device adoption. Today, the most popular device functionality is heart rate monitoring with close to 12 million devices shipped in 2013, according to the findings from the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. These are primarily single function devices that communicate with nearby hubs such as smartphones or activity sports watches. Pedometers and activity trackers were the next two most popular devices, accounting for around 16 million devices combined in 2013. "The market for wearable computing devices is driven by a growing range of wireless connected wearable sports, fitness and well-being devices," said Jonathan Collins, principal analyst at ABI Research. Heart rate and activity monitors will outpace shipments of smart watches and glasses for some years to

While the concept of an automated home was conceived over 80 years ago, various technical limitations have meant that a truly connected home was unimaginable for the average consumer. However, with the advent of mass-deployed broadband Internet connections and the application of wireless technology, today smart connected devices in the home are a very real possibility. Juniper Research now forecasts that revenue generated from Smart Home Services are likely to reach a global market value of $71 billion by 2018, that's rising from $33 billion last year, according to their latest global market study. Their market study findings also found that nearly 80 percent of total Smart Home Service revenues will come from entertainment related services by the end of the forecast period. The Rise of Streaming Video Consumption  As connection speeds have increased, broadband service providers are able to offer greater volumes of content, delivered with increasing convenience. Acco

As excitement builds for the upcoming Mobile World Congress next week, an explosion of mobile internet applications -- as an example, online video entertainment consumption -- will be a key topic for discussion at the event proceedings. Despite continued growth of online video viewing on connected consumer electronics (CE) devices and expanding platform options -- such as Google Chromecast and new consoles from Microsoft and Sony -- annual increases in mobile online viewing (via tablets and smartphones) are higher than any other category. Worldwide mobile views already constitute over 20 percent of the total in 2013, and this share will continue to grow -- more than doubling during the five year forecast window, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Pay-TV services will continue to serve as the primary video entertainment solution for many people, but overall time spent watching OTT online video is expected to pass 21 hours per month by 2019 -- that's up from

The concept of an Internet of Things (IoT) may seem somewhat obscure to the uninformed person, but the need to secure personal property while traveling in an automobile is apparent to most people. Meaningful context removes confusion. That's why IoT market development would clearly benefit from better articulation of use case scenarios, to gain market momentum and increase the potential for further adoption by all stakeholders. While traditional safety telematics services offer stolen vehicle tracking and diagnostics aimed at the physical protection of vehicles, drivers and their passengers are slowly becoming more aware of the benefits enabled by these mobile communication technologies. Moreover, the potential threat of cyber-attacks and their impact on the physical integrity of persons -- especially with vehicle-to-vehicle communication and autonomous vehicles -- means that market demand for security solutions will surely grow over time. The current situation is prompting

During 2014, China will remain one of the leading high-growth markets for digital technology. The Chinese Smart Connected Device (SCD) market grew by 45 percent in the third quarter of 2013, according to the latest market study by IDC. However, segment growth was mixed. The market growth rate of smartphones was 64 percent, media tablets were at 77 percent -- but, in contrast, PCs declined by -12 percent. IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker provides an integrated view of three important digital technology markets: Personal computers (notebooks and desktops), smartphones, and media tablets. According to the IDC study findings, overall 2013 saw fast growth for the SCD market in China. "2013 was a game changing year. The consumer SCD install base reached 780 million at the end of 2013, tripling the number of two years ago," said Kitty Fok, managing director at IDC China. In the future, the China SCD market is going to move from an explosive growt

If there's an eventual downside to the rising smartphone phenomenon, it's not in sight. The worldwide smartphone market reached yet another key milestone, having shipped one billion units in a single year for the first time. According to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), vendors shipped a total of 1,004.2 million smartphones worldwide -- that's up 38.4 percent from the 725.3 million units in 2012. This aligns with IDC's most recent forecast prediction of 1,010.4 million units, making for a difference of less than 1 percent. Smartphones accounted for 55.1 percent of all mobile phone shipments in 2013, up from the 41.7 percent of all mobile phone shipments in 2012. In the fourth quarter of 2013 (4Q13), vendors shipped a total of 284.4 million smartphones worldwide, up 24.2 percent from the 229.0 million units shipped in 4Q12. In the worldwide mobile phone market (inclusive of smartphones), vendors shipped 1,821.8 million un

Demand for casual user online video games has grown significantly over the last few years, particularly on mobile devices -- such as smartphones and media tablets. Regardless, personal computer gaming is still in vogue with its loyal traditional fan-base. A recent digital gaming software and services forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC) concludes that PC and Mac gamer spending and direct banner/video advertising outlays -- across all digital channels -- will grow to over $24 billion worldwide by 2017. The forecast also found that global digital PC/Mac game revenue will rise about 4 percent per year between 2012 and 2017. North American digital PC/Mac gaming revenue, however, is forecast to slip at the margins over the forecast period. This market share slide is mainly the result of the cannibalization of casual-leaning, browser-centric games -- typified by Zynga's Farmville 2 -- by smartphones and tablets. The market share shift is also compounded by a stead

The African continent could experience high growth and real socioeconomic advancement -- if only the nations of the region can end the debilitating ethnic wars and outlaw the deep-rooted local government corruption. Meanwhile, telecommunications infrastructure investment continues unabated. By end of 2018, it's estimated that half the African population will be covered by 4G LTE mobile networks, as LTE base station deployment swells at a CAGR of 40 percent over the next five years, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. However, LTE network population coverage will be far from homogenous across the region, with a few countries such as Angola and Namibia nearing the halfway point already, while wealthier nations like Botswana and Gabon have yet to deploy the advanced technology. "Part of the underlying reason for this digital divide is the different types of initiatives driving LTE roll-out," says Ying Kang Tan, research associate at ABI Research .

The mobile software apps industry has continued its creative evolution; as an example, adopting better image recognition. This is a positive advancement for the mobile platform, as it will enable a greater range of applications. In particular, savvy digital marketers will benefit from the new capabilities. Juniper Research has found that annual revenues from mobile augmented reality (AR) services and applications will reach $1.2 billion by 2015 -- that's up from just over $180 million last year. Juniper's latest global market study found that games -- which accounted for more than 40 percent of AR downloads in 2013 -- will continue to deliver the largest revenue stream for the foreseeable future. However, it observed that with AR increasingly deployed within mainstream lifestyle, enterprise and general entertainment applications, each of these sectors should achieve annual mobile AR revenues in excess of $1 billion within 5-6 years. How Brand Engagement is Boosting

Smart wearable devices were characterized as 'cool' technology by the introduction of the Google Glass collection, but commercial success will come slowly to this nascent product category. Granted, wearable technology will be defined by the diversity of creative new products -- yet it's likely that only the devices with a crystal clear use-case will succeed in the marketplace. ABI Research forecasts the wearable device sales volumes in 2014 will come from healthcare and sports and activity trackers. Meanwhile, the commercial launch of several smart glass products, including Google Glass, will continue to drive interest in the wearable space. But it won't be a significant commercial success in 2014. "The next twelve months will be a critical period for the acceptance and adoption of wearable devices," says Joshua Flood, senior analyst at ABI Research . Healthcare and sports related devices are conceptually mass-market products. However, wearable devices l

Heavy construction and mining equipment is going online, thanks to M2M apps and the Internet of Things. Although the penetration of telematics in the industry on the whole remains low, operators are gradually beginning to realize the benefits as more and more OEMs include telematics solutions as standard in their vehicles. Most heavy-duty vehicle operators cite the tracking capability of their telematics systems as providing the most immediate initial benefit to their businesses, as it helps to reduce vehicle theft and misuse, thus reducing insurance premiums. But telematics can also promote better machine utilization, reduction in fuel consumption, and enable more efficient maintenance and repair schedules. Additionally, it can help fleet operators with safety compliance by enabling them to control site access and observe noise limit requirements through the use of the geo-fence and time-fence features of their telematics systems. Most construction fleets are mixed fleets comp

It's already apparent to most video entertainment industry analysts -- fewer people are interested in owning physical media and the recent results of DVD and Blu-ray disc sales in mature markets is a leading indicator of this growing trend. Other key trends are also emerging. Netflix helped boost subscription services to nearly 40 percent of the UK over-the-top (OTT) video entertainment market. The worldwide OTT video market reached nearly $11 billion in 2013, of which Netflix is also a significant contributor in the North American and expanding Latin American markets. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, OTT revenue share will shift to TVOD (transactional video on demand) and advertising as new video entertainment services emerge. Part of the driving force for TVOD, and more specifically EST (electronic sell-through), is going to be propelled by the eventual increased adoption of UltraViolet -- which today has an uncertain future. "While we still bel

Voice services, despite increased competition and the threat of new technologies, remains the most important revenue generator for all but a handful of mobile network operators worldwide. However, voice revenues face immense pressure and will continue to be eroded, prompting providers to create new offerings. Mobile network operators will generate revenues of close to $20 billion by 2018 through strategies involving internet based voice or carrier OTT services, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research.  These Internet voice revenues will be derived from new service propositions and bundles delivered through partnerships with stand-alone OTT (Over The Top) service providers. Why Mobile VoIP will be a Mainstream App The Juniper study found that while OTT service providers have been successful in creating impressive user bases of mVoIP customers, many future revenue generating strategies are likely to involve traditional mobile service providers that have a billing

As previously reported, the prior global adoption of ultrabook PCs has been underwhelming. Regardless, there is some residual demand for these expensive devices. An estimated 12.3 percent (22.5 million devices) of the notebook PC shipments in 2013 (182.7 million) fit into the ultra-portable segment, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. In total, the year-on-year growth of ultra-portable PCs reached 100 percent from 2012 to 2013. But that's still a relatively small part of the overall worldwide personal computer marketplace. "Across 24 countries tracked in November 2013, we found average ultra-portable PC selling prices ranging from $940 to $1540 with the majority of models offered above $1200 in each country," says Jeff Orr, senior practice director at ABI Research . The average selling prices (ASP) suggest ultra-portables -- including the convertible and detachable 2-in-1 configurations -- remained at the high-end of the notebook PC category exitin