Digital Lifescapes

Over the last 18 months, the wearables market has started to mature and has grown considerably with new players introducing numerous products -- such as fitness bands, smartwatches, smart glasses, and other sensor-enabled devices. Using data compiled from approximately 328,000 consumer reviews since January 2014, the latest market study by Argus Insights reveals that after the holiday season of 2013, consumers briefly lost interest in wearables before steadily increasing demand reached its high point in January 2015 where it was four times the level of a year earlier. Since then, however, demand has slowed. According to the report, all the media buzz about the Apple Watch introduction stole consumer interest away from Fitbit and other wearables, as potential buyers waited to determine whether they wanted the Apple Watch. Interest in Fitbit devices resumed and grew once the Apple Watch details were announced, as Fitbit and other wearable manufacturers saw a strong 2014 holiday p...

While the concept of an automated home was conceived many years ago, various technical limitations have, until recently, meant that a truly connected home was but a dream for the average consumer. With the advent of mass-deployed broadband Internet access and the development of wireless technology, smart connected devices in the home are now a very real possibility. Juniper Research forecasts that the installed base of connected appliances in Smart Homes will exceed the 10 million mark by 2017 -- that's rising from 4 million units in 2013. Their latest global market study found that consumer awareness of connected appliances -- such as smart refrigerators and washing machines -- was gradually increasing, but that such devices are not widely considered to offer attractive value-added benefits. The Internet of Things for an Intelligent Home According to the Juniper assessment, smart appliances remain a niche item, given their high retail prices, poor use cases and ongoing se...

The number of smartphone shipments reached 230 million in Q2 2013, representing a year-over-year growth of almost 50 percent from Q2 2012 and quarter-over-quarter growth of nearly 13 percent, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research . Samsung increased its smartphone market share by shipping an estimated 72 million smartphones and accounting for approximately 31 percent of all smartphone shipments in the quarter. Even though Samsung posted another record quarter in terms of device shipments, they admitted slowing sales of their high-end smartphones including the Galaxy S4, with quarterly growth driven by mid-low end smartphones. Samsung is estimated to have shipped 20 million Galaxy S4 in the first two months after its April 2013 launch, but subsequent sales are believed to have tailed off. iPhone Sales are Up, But Profits are Down Likewise, Apple boasted iPhone sales showing strong y-o-y growth – up by 20 percent to more than 31 million – but saw y-o-y profit...

The mobile communications sector continues to advance -- with new handheld devices driving mobile internet usage. Juniper Research estimates that the number of smartphone shipments reached almost 200 million in Q1 2013, representing a growth of 30 percent from the same quarter in 2012. Samsung increased its smartphone market share by shipping an estimated 68 million smartphones and accounting for approximately 34 percent of all smartphone shipments in the quarter. Samsung announced a steady pace in sales of the Galaxy SIII, and improved sales of the Note II for the quarter. However, despite profits falling for the first time in a decade for Apple, they posted better than expected iPhone sales at around 37.4 million -- that's 7 percent growth compared to the same quarter in 2012. With another product due soon, Juniper has joined other industry analysts who believe that Apple needs to innovate. The next product release must help Apple maintain their market position. Moreover...

comScore reported the key trends within the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending October 2012. Their latest market study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 26.3 percent market share. Once again, Google Android continues to lead among smartphone OS platforms, accounting for 53.6 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Apple was able to secure just 34.3 percent. The Android ecosystem has gained significant traction within the media tablet market as well, which likely also helps to drive further adoption -- attracting a huge pool of independent software app developers. For the three-month average period ending in October, device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 26.3 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.7 percentage points). Apple ranked second for the first time on record with 17.8 percent market share (up 1.5 percentage points), followed by LG w...

According to the latest market study by Informa Telecoms & Media, 31 percent of households worldwide will own at least one Smart TV in five years time, with household penetration much higher in North America (63 percent) and Western Europe (64 percent). They now forecast that over 220 million smart TV sets will be sold worldwide in 2017, that's up from the 54 million that have been sold in 2012. However, while smart TV connection rates are rising, they will continue to lag the connection rates of video game consoles and media streaming devices -- such as Apple TV and the Roku streaming player. With their long lifecycles, Informa believes that TVs are likely not the best device to be the hub of the digital home. Instead, smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, media streamers and games consoles, will be the key devices driving the digital home experience. Smartphones in particular, with their short life-cycles and rapidly increasing processor power, will continue to define...

Despite the high expectations for the entry of OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays into the television market during 2012, these TV sets will likely now only be available in very small quantities by the end of this year. With 55" OLED TV demonstrations featured at CES in January 2012, commercial products were expected in time for the Olympics in August. But as the year progressed, the possibility of commercialization in 2012 was being questioned -- due to mass production challenges and expected high retail prices. In September, OLED TVs were once again demonstrated at IFA in Berlin, and even at some local retailers, but were still not commercially available. According to the latest market study by NPD DisplaySearch, OLED TV panel makers and set manufacturers are still forecasting that at least 500 OLED TVs will ship in 2012. While this is a very small quantity in comparison to the total TV market, the start of shipments will be an important breakthrough. OLED T...

The phablet is a hybrid mobile device that's larger than a typical smartphone, but smaller than a media tablet -- an example is the Samsung Galaxy Note. This is exactly the type of new mobile device that would appeal to me -- primarily for video communication applications. In fact, I would welcome the opportunity to review one of the new phablet models. That being said, I've previously been unsuccessful in convincing my mobile phone service provider to loan me a review unit for a detailed application-centric assessment. More than 208 million phablets will be shipped globally in 2015. Despite the slow start for phablet smartphones in 2011, we're now witnessing the dawn of the phablet era. HTC, LG, and Huawei will each introduce phablet smartphones in 2012, joining the ranks of Samsung’s Galaxy Note and Nexus. Additionally, another phablet smartphone was released earlier this month, the Samsung Galaxy S3. "One of the chief drivers for phablets is the amount of t...