Digital Lifescapes

In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, the automobile sector has emerged as a vanguard of innovation, boldly steering into the digital technology era. And, this is just the beginning of an amazing digital transformation. Automobile manufacturers face the considerable challenge of transferring their legacy products to Electric Vehicles (EVs) while balancing the need to maintain revenue and profits to afford the switchover from internal combustion engines. Automobile Digitalization Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, automobile manufacturers will have invested $83.3 billion in digital technologies in 2023, growing by a CAGR of 8.5 percent to surpass $188 billion in 2033. "The transfer to EVs is driving demand for software, as manufacturers need to design new vehicles and simulate the vehicles' performance. The new production lines will also need to be simulated before launch," said Michael Larner, research direc...

While much of the upside potential for cloud computing service adoption will occur in the developed markets this year, there's significant opportunities within the emerging markets around the globe. In Brazil, as an example, cloud computing  demand is evolving rapidly -- with 41 percent of companies already using these solutions and 42 percent planning to use them by the end of 2015, according to the latest market study by Frost & Sullivan. Approximately 25 percent of Brazilian companies will be investing in cloud solutions for the first time. While the majority of these companies are opting for the private cloud model, it is anticipated that the hybrid (public/private) model will become the preferred approach over time. By the end of 2015, 66 percent of Brazilian companies are forecast to use at least one cloud offering. The upside opportunity does include some caveats, however, that may impact further adoption. While the Brazilian companies now have a better unde...

Worldwide smart connected devices (SCD) are forecast to grow 15.6 percent year over year in 2014, reaching close to 1.8 billion devices, according to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Smartphone growth is expected to lead the upside market potential, as PC and tablet (plus 2-in-1 device) forecasts have been lowered in light of a weak first quarter of 2014. By 2018, IDC now estimates shipments will grow to 2.4 billion units. "Apple's iOS-ification of Mac OS, and Microsoft's implementation of Modern UI throughout different form factors are clear indicators that we're living in a mobile-first world," said Jitesh Ubrani, research analyst at IDC . In future, the PC will become the new accessory to mobile devices, as smartphones become the first and primary computing device for many people around the world. IDC expects smartphone shipments to outpace total PC shipments by more than 6 to 1 in 2018. The smartphone install...

The Latin American video entertainment market is a focal point of many industry analysts, as growth in most of the established markets within developed nations reached saturation. Broadcast TV and pay-TV offerings in Latin American countries have a significant upside potential. Digital TV adoption is already growing in Latin America -- from only 18.1 percent penetration of TV households at end-2010 to just over the halfway mark by end-2014 and onto 94.5 percent by 2020, according to the latest market study by Digital TV Research. Put another way, 132 million digital TV households (in 19 countries) will be added between 2010 and 2020 to take the total to 157 million. Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) will provide half of the additional digital TV homes to be added between 2010 and 2020. "Much of this growth is being driven by satellite TV, especially lower-cost and prepaid packages – although these subscribers are forcing down average ARPU figures," said Simon Murray,...

Communications infrastructure investment is having a substantive impact on economic development within Latin American. By the end of 2013, Latin American cellular mobile phone subscriptions are expected to grow by 3.9 percent to reach 709.4 million, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. An expanding population base and positive economic indicators for a number of Latin American markets means the region continues to stimulate the interest of foreign and regional telecommunications companies and other investors. At the end of 3Q-2013, while the mobile service prepaid ratio stood at 79.5 percent, the smartphone user base was just 16.1 percent. But smartphone adoption is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 31.7 percent between 2013 and 2018. "Smartphones are presenting mobile carriers with an opportunity to upgrade prepaid subscriptions to postpaid subscriptions," commented Jake Saunders, VP and practice director at ABI Research . An example of this mobile inter...

​The apparent significance of emerging markets to the evolution of the Mobile Internet is really nothing short of a transformation. Demand for lower cost technology has helped to advance all wireless broadband deployments and it's shifting the balance of power in the process. Case in point: China will displace the U.S. as the largest smartphone market in 2013. Brazil and India are also forecast to be in the top four countries for smartphone shipments by 2018. Smartphone vendor interest and the strategies of the smartphone value chain are shifting accordingly. ABI Research forecasts that Russia will come in as the eleventh largest smartphone market in 2013 and will climb to 7th in 2018. "With room to grow, the emerging BRIC nations are displacing established markets such as the U.S. and Japan as market leaders in terms of smartphone shipments," said , Michael Morgan senior analyst at ABI Research . ABI Research forecasts that the top five countries in 2018 will a...

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 ...

Smartphone shipments to emerging markets will drive new growth in the years ahead -- the implications are significant; it's a major shift in focus. According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation ( IDC ), China will become the leading global market for smartphone shipments in 2012, moving ahead of the current leader, the United States. Looking ahead to 2016, two additional emerging markets, India and Brazil, will enter the top 5 country markets for smartphone user adoption. "Due to their sheer size, strong demand, and healthy replacement rates, emerging markets are quickly becoming the engines of the worldwide smartphone market," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC. Users in emerging markets seek more than simple voice telephony, and smartphones offer the ideal platform for mobile entertainment, social networking, and business usage. Meanwhile, mature markets, such as Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, will experi...

American online retailers have compelling reasons for selling to potential customers in other nations. According to the latest study by eMarketer, as ecommerce growth slows in the U.S. market, retailers are seeking new revenue opportunities in foreign markets. This is especially true in emerging internet economies such as China -- where B2C online sales are forecast to grow at a 94.2 percent compound annual rate from 2010 to 2015. "Some U.S. retailers have started to sell online internationally after seeing significant amounts of site traffic coming from abroad," said Jeffrey Grau, principal analyst at eMarketer . Retailers that hesitate now may face higher entry barriers later -- as competitors team up with the most desirable in-country business partners and earn the loyalty of local online consumers. The most popular foreign countries for American online retailers have been Canada, the UK and Australia -- highly developed markets that share linguistic and cultural ...

The transition from older-style can-type television channel tuners to silicon TV tuners finally began to occur in 2010. Today, the top TV set manufacturers are actually putting silicon tuners directly on their main TV chassis boards -- and many ODMs are using can-type modules that contain silicon tuners and demodulators. Moreover, new broadcast TV applications are helping to increase demand. According to the latest market study by In-Stat , mobile video services in China, Brazil, and the U.S. are creating new growth markets for all-digital mobile tuners that will drive the value of silicon TV tuner shipments to $750 million in 2015. “Silicon tuners have finally turned the corner in the battle with traditional can-type modules,” says Gerry Kaufhold, Research Director at In-Stat. The major name-brand TV set manufactures have been convinced of the performance, reliability and roadmaps presented by the silicon tuner vendors. An epochal shift away from old-style cans is now ful...

Latin America will pass the milestone of 100 percent mobile phone penetration by the end of the first quarter 2011, according to the latest market study by Informa Telecoms & Media . However, despite this accomplishment, there are still 178 million people in the region without mobile communication services -- which represents 30 percent of its population. Brazil, the largest and most important mobile market in South America, had already passed the milestones of 100 percent penetration and 200 million subscriptions by the end of 2010. With 105 percent penetration at the end of December, Brazil is now the sixth-largest market globally with 206 million subscriptions and the seventh-largest by revenues. "Passing 100 percent penetration is a huge milestone for the mobile industry, but it's important to note that it does not mean that everyone in Latin America has a mobile phone," says Daniele Tricarico, senior analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. Informa'...