Sep 12
Half of parents say kids have damaged a mobile...
SquareTrade (www.squaretrade.com), which offers a protection plan for electronic gadgets, says that a new study has found that that more than 50% of American parents say their kids have damaged a mobile phone, laptop, tablet or other portable device, costing parents more than US$2.8 billion in repairs and replacements.
"Just like their parents, kids use devices for an increasing number of things – from games and videos to research and homework. Our research shows that this increased usage also means that devices are more at risk than ever before, and we expect this trend to continue," says Ty Shay, CMO of SquareTrade. "We believe it's important to educate parents about these accidents because 60% are not covered by a protection plan, making repairs and replacements expensive and time consuming."
More than 85% of American kids now have their own mobile device and they use it more than ever: parents...
|
Read more »
Sep 11
Emerging markets opt for smart TVs at greater rate...
According to the NPD DisplaySearch "Quarterly Smart TV Usage Study" (http://tinyurl.com/n7476y8), consumers in emerging markets are twice as likely as those in mature markets to purchase an internet-enabled smart TV in the coming 12 months. When asked about their planned TV purchases, 71% of consumers in Brazil, China, and other emerging markets reported they were likely to purchase a smart TV in the next 12 months, compared to just 37% of TV consumers in France, the UK, and other mature markets.
"Features that are key to future smart TV purchases include being able to search for online content, web browsing, and VOD services, as they allow consumers to access entertainment, news, and other online content such as shopping," says Riddhi Patel, research director at NPD DisplaySearch. "Dual-play 3D games and cloud storage were least important to consumers."
TV brands continue to promote smart TVs...
|
Read more »
Sep 10
Fiber-optic broadband to represent 19% of fixed...
Worldwide fixed-line broadband subscriptions continue to grow at a healthy pace in 2013. According to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com), fiber-optic broadband market share will reach 19% by year-end 2013, from 16% in 2012.
"The number of broadband subscribers is growing on all DSL, cable, and fiber-optic platforms. However, there is a marked shift in consumer adoption from DSL to fiber-optic as operators continue to extend the reach of their fiber-optic infrastructure," says Jake Saunders, vice president and practice director, ABI Research.
This trend is not only taking place in developed but also in emerging markets. China is anticipated to see a declining trend in DSL broadband adoption in the next few years as the country’s broadband operators, China Telecom and China Unicom, aggressively roll out fiber-optic networks. In 1Q-2013, total DSL subscriptions dropped by three million. In the same...
|
Read more »
Sep 09
Nearly all Americans spammed with malware and viruses
Halon (www.halonsecurity.com) -- which specializes in email security, routers, and load balancers -- has announced the results of its U.S. survey," Email Spam and Related User Behavior," Conducted by market research group TNS Global, the survey discovered that 94.7% of Americans received at least one email containing a virus, spyware, or malware.
About one in eleven (8.8%) opened the attachment and infected their computer. Almost a third (30.2%) came dangerously close to doing the same, opening the email but stopping short of opening the attachment. These spam emails bogusly claim to come most often from banking institutions (15.9%), social media sites like Facebook or Twitter (15.2%), and online payment services (12.8%).
One in three Americans admits they would open an unsolicited email -- even if it seems suspicious -- depending on its subject line. For women, spam email messages...
|
Read more »
Sep 06
Protecting mobile video content should be a top...
The digital rights management (DRM) market will grow at a rate of 12% annually to become a $1.2 billion market by 2018, while the related conditional access (CAS) market will decline slightly to dip below $1.5 billion annually, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).
Opportunities within the DRM market include multiple components, comprising authentication, intellectual property and tools, core DRM technologies, and implementation services and Pay TV services, says the research group. The Pay TV services submarket, which most closely mimics the classic CAS market, represented only about 35% of the total addressable market in 2012.
"Pay TV content protection markets are being turned on their heads as responsibility at delivering IP video content to the consumer is starting to shift from Pay TV distributors, such as Comcast, DirecTV, and Sky, to programmers including NBCUniversal, HBO, and...
|
Read more »
Sep 06
Cloud security reaches tipping point
Fifty-six percent of developers actively developing in the Cloud now say they are very confident about the security of their company's current cloud software development process, a forty-four percent increase from 39% a year ago who said they were very confident -- a number that was up from 36% in spring of 2011.
Additionally, 38% were somewhat satisfied according to the latest Evans Data Cloud Development Survey (www.evansdata.com), a survey of over 450 software Cloud developers conducted in July 2013. A similar percent also expressed satisfaction with the security and sandboxing measures that Cloud providers offer to protect corporate data.
"We've made a profound step forward during the last year in the rate of confidence developers place in cloud offerings," said Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data Corp. "While the total number this year and last year of developers who are satisfied has remained similar...
|
Read more »
Sep 05
Big/green data centers to drive significant optical...
According to a new report from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com), the market for rack-based and board-to-board interconnection will grow from US$1.1 billion this year to $2.2 billion in 2018. The market is expected to stabilize after that.
All the usual suspects that drive the proliferation of fiber optics in the data center will apply: faster processors, bulky copper cables and more video. However, in this report the author claims that two new factors will drive optical interconnection in the data center in the next few years.
One of these factors is the rise of big data, says Research and Markets, The author expects that massively parallel computing -- with thousands of CPUs deployed in 100s of racks -- will become part of general business computing in large data centers. High-speed optical interconnection in this computing environment is a necessity to avoid the...
|
Read more »
Sep 04
51% of developers say lack of time the main reason for...
SOASTA, which specializes in cloud and mobile testing, has announced the findings of a series of surveys questioning American adults about their concerns when buying mobile apps, and the issues developers face with testing apps before they are released.
Harris Interactive conducted an online survey on behalf of SOASTA among 3,130 American adults ages 18+ (the consumer study), while uSamp polled 1,309 information technology specialists and mobile app developers (the developer study). Both surveys occurred in July, 2013. SOASTA commissioned the research due to its position as the leading provider of cloud and mobile testing solutions for leading brands.
The results of the consumer study show that 77% of consumers who purchase mobile apps have concerns that would prevent them from buying a mobile app, while it appears that developers are not doing enough to ensure a high quality user experience for their apps that reach the market.
Results from the...
|
Read more »
Sep 02
The Northern Spy: Communication and the New...
By Rick Sutcliffe
A very long time ago even by non-Internet standards, the Spy advised people owning stock in typewriter companies to sell. In that same era he opined "collect postage stamps young woman, for soon they won't make them any more".
To the former, anyone under thirty-five might today say "what's a typewriter?" The Spy was right. But to the latter, he was only half so. True, anyone under ten today is likely to say the same thing about stamps in just a few more years, as post offices around the world slowly go insolvent. Mind, they have no one to blame but themselves, for several reasons, not all due to the Internet. The result is there aren't many collectors after all.
First, because too many postal authorities, beginning in the former Soviet block (demise also predicted back then) debased the product by contracting with American stamp companies selling by approvals to unsuspecting children for the manufacture of "stamps" that were...
|
Read more »
Aug 30
Storage market sees continued recovery
The worldwide personal and entry-level storage (PELS) market grew 10.7% year over year with 16.8 million units shipped in the second quarter of 2013 (2Q13), according to the International Data Corp. (IDC).
Shipment value experienced growth of 7.3% year over year to US$1.5 billion. This is the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth in worldwide shipment value.
"The second quarter of 2013 brought continued shipment and revenue growth, as well as a return to normal for the personal and entry-level storage market," says Liz Conner, senior research analyst, Storage Systems. "For the last four quarters, the PELS market has seen a distinct focus on recovery after the Thailand floods and resulting hard disk drive (HDD) shortage. The second quarter brought back a sense of 'business as usual' with vendors starting to shift their focus from recovery to the future, with added investments in Personal Cloud Storage, mobile device connectivity, emerging markets, USB 3.0...
|
Read more »
Aug 29
Government cloud market worth $18.48 billion by 2018
According to new data from Markets and Markets (www.marektsandmarkets.com), the government cloud market will be worth US$18.48 billion by 2018.
Government bodies -- such as federal, state and local agencies -- are adopting private and community clouds internally or in a group of departments. There is less traction for public and hybrid clouds. In the present scenario, the maturity of these cloud systems is not enough for adoption by the public agencies, according to Markets and Markets. It is up to the discretion of the agencies to adopt their choice of deployment models, says the research group.
Different deployment models have their unique advantages and have their negatives, as well. Overall, the implementation of government cloud will help the government agencies to achieve their mission demands, improve automation, develop core competency and adopt sustainability practices.
...
|
Read more »
Aug 28
Consumer spending on apps to reach $75 billion by 2017
Juniper Research’s latest report has determined that in 2017, over US$75 billion will be spent on consumer apps. This will be largely as a result of the in-app purchase model gaining continued traction across many markets, and the impact of new monetisation models used by developers and storefronts.
The report from Juniper (www.juniperresearch.com) explores 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. 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.
Nevertheless, the report also found that to 2017, the proportion of revenue accrued from apps paid for at the point of download would fall to almost a...
|
Read more »
Aug 27
Car infotainment systems with multiple operating...
ABI Research forecasts that the number of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) installed connected car infotainment systems with multiple OS architectures shipped globally will reach 34.2 million units at the end of 2018 with secure container-type units accounting for 57.3% of shipments and virtual machine-type units accounting for the remaining 42.7%.
Multimedia sophistication is growing rapidly in cars with in-car infotainment systems running incredibly sophisticated software stacks, according to the research group. This, coupled with the increasing complexity of other electronic systems such as ADAS technologies, is driving the need for electronic processor consolidation. As a result, the automotive world is moving inexorably towards mixed criticality systems in which real-time safety and security components must co-exist with other less critical components on the same platform.
Linking vehicles to the Internet and allowing software to be downloaded to an...
|
Read more »
Aug 26
Most consumers will delete emails they can't read...
Mobile email has become a "make or break" communication channel for marketers, according to the latest survey from Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey. The survey of 1,497 consumers found that 80% of smartphone owners say it's "extremely important" to be able to read emails on their mobile devices.
The study also exposed what could be unfortunate results for marketers who have not yet taken mobile email display into consideration: 75% said they are "highly likely" to delete an email if they can’t read it on their smartphone.
Additional research revealed the positive benefits of well-planned mobile email campaigns. Among consumers who use smartphones and laptops/desktops to read emails, 79% say they are highly likely to reopen an email on a laptop or desktop after having originally opened it on a mobile device. Almost half (49%) of respondents...
|
Read more »
Aug 23
Mobile gaming to grow at an average rate of 19% per...
The latest figures provided by MobileCasinos.co show that the mobile gaming market is set to grow at a rate of 19% per year up until 2016. The huge growth of the mobile gambling market in 2012 and 2013 is expected to continue over the new few years, with more companies such as W3i investing in native iOS and Android operating systems.
According to the latest statistics provided by the owners of MobileCasinos.co, mobile gaming is set to grow at an average rate of 19% for smartphones and just under 50% for tablets. Smartphones games will hit $13.9 billion in revenue in 2016, while tablet and smartphone devices will account for over one-fifth of the global market.
The owners of MobileCasinos.co stated: "Mobile gaming has been the elephant in the room for quite some time now. Companies such as Juniper Research have traditionally over-estimated growth rates for mobile gambling; however, in 2012 and 2013 we saw these markets grow by more than 10%. The rate of growth is...
|
Read more »
Aug 22
Sub-$200 smartphone shipments to exceed 750 million in...
Low cost smartphones, defined as smartphones with a wholesale ASP below $200, are increasingly appearing in OEM [original equipment manufacturer] and operator portfolios in both emerging and developed markets, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).
The low hanging fruit for low cost smartphones is to drive smartphone adoption in emerging markets where handset subsidization and disposable income are scarce, according to the research group. ABI Research forecasts low cost smartphone shipments to grow from 238 million in 2013 to 758 million by 2018, driven by the low penetration of smartphones and large subscriber bases found in BRIC countries.
"Despite the low cost moniker, research has shown that the feature gap between low- and high-end smartphones is decreasing, making low cost smartphones a 'good enough' solution for price sensitive consumers in all markets," says senior analyst Michael...
|
Read more »
Aug 21
Mobile wireless accessory shipments to approach 170...
New findings from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) shows a high growth surge expected in the emerging smart wireless accessory sector.
The new report 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 and fitness accessories, although in the longer run healthcare smart wireless accessories are expected to gain most traction, according to the research group.
"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," says report author Nitin Bhas. "Nevertheless, the multiplicity of potential use cases means that the consumer electronics category represents one of the most important areas in which smart wireless...
|
Read more »
Aug 20
Airlines missing chance to sell ancillary services to...
Airlines are missing a major opportunity to drive more ancillary revenue from business travelers, according to a recent survey of 902 business travelers by FlightView, the day-of-travel information company.
According to FlightView's survey, more than half of all business travelers would consider purchasing in-flight amenities and services if offers were pushed to their mobile devices before they boarded the plane. Specifically, business travelers would consider mobile, day-of-travel purchases of:
In-flight WiFi 65.3%
Seat with extra legroom 55.4%
Business- or first-class ticket upgrade 50.2%
Early boarding privileges 43.0%
However, in the last 12 months, only 45 percent of business travelers have actually purchased a seat upgrade or add-on (such as in-flight WiFi) using an airline's mobile website or app.
"There is major opportunity to increase revenue and improve the travel experience by pushing relevant services via mobile," says...
|
Read more »
Aug 19
Apple, Samsung leave little room for others in the...
ABI Research’s Device Portal sales channel analysis reveals tough times are ahead for smartphone vendors, as the balance of power remains with Samsung/Android and Apple.
The smartphone market is entering a new, more mature stage in its growth, where execution rules over innovation and Samsung is dominating the sales channel with more than double the number devices on offer than any other vendor across the 13 markets and multiple online retailers studied, according to the research group (www.abiresearch.com).
"ABI Research’s Device Portal analysis showed that Samsung is dominating the sales channel at nearly every price point, with only Apple challenging Samsung at the high end of the market," Nick Spencer, senior practice director, ABI Research, says. "This leaves little room for the other vendors to compete, especially the other Android vendors and those using uncompetitive operating system...
|
Read more »
Aug 16
Semiconductor industry to see CAGR of 4.3% over next...
Global macroeconomic developments and technological advances, personal computers, and memory markets are expected to drive demand over the forecast period, according to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com).
The global semiconductor industry is a fragmented market, notes the research group. The Asia Pacific (APAC) region dominates this market and represents approximately three-fourths of the global market. Some of the major players include Intel Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba Corporation. The combination of factors such as continuing transfer of worldwide electronic equipment production to China and the above-average semiconductor content of that equipment influences market dynamics tremendously.
As indicated in the Research and Markets study, there is increasing demand for semiconductors from the BRIC (Brazil,...
|
Read more »
Aug 15
Parental control software, filtering to drive child...
Protecting children and teenagers in cyber space is a growing concern for parents, educators, and public administrators. The number of digital platforms from which they can access the Internet is constantly increasing: smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles are the newest popular connected platforms adding to the existing PC and laptop vectors, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).
Cyber bullying and grooming, violent and inappropriate content, exposure of personal data, and privacy violations are all too common threats. Low parental knowledge and lack of adequate cyber education for children is prompting a surge in demand for filtering, blocking, and control technologies, according to the research group.
The child online protection and parental control market is a lucrative one, says ABI Research. The drivers for growth are inherently affected by many different cultural, educational,...
|
Read more »
Aug 14
Almost 600,000 base stations to be upgraded to LTE-A...
Yota launched the first LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network in Russia last October; however, with the first compatible handset, SK Telecom was the earliest to make the technology commercially available in June 2013.
Within two weeks, the South Korean operator has already claimed over 150,000 subscriptions, roughly 0.6% of its total. The United States will have at least four LTE-A networks in service by the end of this year as well. This fierce competition will see more than half of the LTE subscribers in North America using LTE-A by 2017, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).
Underpinning this rapid adoption is the upgrade of base stations to support LTE-A worldwide, which is increasing at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of ~200% between 2012 and 2018 to reach more than half-a-million strong.
"It’s about boosting capacity as data consumption soars," says Ying Kang Tan, research...
|
Read more »
Aug 13
Hashtags use in Facebook posts by brands create no...
Simply Measured says 98% of top brands now have a Facebook fan page, with 60% posting at least one time per day. However, the frequency of posts is much less effective in engaging fans than a brand’s content strategy.
Visual content is by far the primary driver for engagement on Facebook, with photos accounting for 95% of total engagement. Overall, photos posted by top brands average more than 9,400 engagements per post, while video posts average more than 2,500 engagements.
Over the past few months, Facebook has made significant changes to benefit brands and users, including redesigning its News Feed to improve how visual content is displayed, and introducing clickable hashtags that allow brands to provide additional context with their posts. While 20% of posts now include hashtags, Simply Measured saw no measurable change in how hashtags influence engagement. These posts perform as well as posts without hashtags, suggesting that people are not yet discovering brand...
|
Read more »
Aug 12
IDC: worldwide semiconductor revenue will grow 6.9%...
Semiconductor revenue worldwide will see improved growth this year of 6.9% and reaching US$320 billion according to the mid-year 2013 update of the "Semiconductor Applications Forecaster" (SAF) from International Data Corporation (IDC).
The SAF also forecasts that semiconductor revenues will grow 2.9% year over year in 2014 to $329 billion and log a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% from 2012-2017, reaching $366 billion in 2017, according to the research group (www.idc.com).
Continued global macroeconomic uncertainty from a slowdown in China, eurozone debt crisis and recession, Japan recession, and the U.S. sequester's impact on corporate IT spending are factors that could affect global semiconductor demand this year. Mobile phones and tablets will drive a significant portion of the growth in the semiconductor market this year.
The industry continued to see weakness in PC demand, but strong memory...
|
Read more »
Aug 09
802.15.4-enabled device market set to grow 5X from...
Annual shipments of 802.15.4-enabled devices are forecast to grow more than 5X from 2012 to 2018, with a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of over 30%, reports ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). ZigBee continues to be the primary driver toward standardization and interoperability and will see further strong growth across many markets, accounting for almost 80% of total 802.15.4-enabled device shipments in 2018, according to the research group.
"It’s been quite a turbulent time for ZigBee over the last couple of years," says Peter Cooney, practice director. "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 focus and success...
|
Read more »
Aug 08
Mobile devices invade the workplace of the tech savvy
The adoption of mobile devices for personal use is well documented but less is known about their use at work. An "IDG Global Solutions" (IGS) survey found a growing overlap between home and work use among participants in 43 countries.
Forty-one percent use their private smartphone for business while almost as many use a tablet (37%). Private/business tablet use ran as high as 59% in Asia Pacific and Latin America to 36% in North America and 29% in Western Europe. As for smartphones supported by an organization’s IT department, Asia Pacific and Latin America led the way followed by Eastern Europe and North America.
The 25,601 respondents to an online survey fielded from March to May 2013 said they rely heavily on both devices to read email (93%-94%) and download or use mobile apps (67%-71%). They are also actively seeking industry news and conducting research about technology issues and products. The questionnaire was posted to 120 IDG tech media sites worldwide that...
|
Read more »
Aug 07
We're watching smartphones, tablets while we...
According to the "Quarterly Multi-Screen Usage Study" from NPD DisplaySearch (www.displaysearch.com), 88% of tablet PC owners and 82% of smartphone owners in 15 countries surveyed use their devices at least some of the time while they watch TV. Email, Web browsing, texting, Facebook, and weather were among the top applications accessed while watching TV.
"The rise in connected mobile devices has changed the way consumers view TV and online content," says Riddhi Patel, research director at NPD DisplaySearch. "For many people around the world, multi-tasking with apps on smartphones and tablets while watching TV has forever changed the traditional TV-focused viewing experience."
Eighty-five of tablet owners and 65% of smartphone owners view online content on their mobile devices instead of on their TVs at least some of the time. Of the people who used mobile devices to view online content, most said...
|
Read more »
Aug 06
Global facial recognition market to grow 24.5% through...
According to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) the global facial recognition market will grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 24.5% through 2016.
One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing high security requirement in government departments. The global facial recognition market has also been witnessing an increased number of mergers and acquisitions, says Research and Markets. However, facial recognition systems are not always accurate and this could pose a challenge to the growth of this market, according to the research group.
Commenting on the report, an analyst from the team said: "The Global Facial Recognition market is witnessing an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions, and this trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. The existing vendors and new entrants are taking the acquisitive route to...
|
Read more »
Aug 05
Anytime access to online banking solutions aiding...
ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) forecasts that cumulative online ID and authentication shipments into the banking market vertical will total 1.6 billion in 2018; an increase of 945% when compared to 2012.
Cumulative shipments include secure USB tokens, standalone OTP generators, portable smart card readers, and mobile device software applications. Of the 2018 shipment total ABI Research forecasts that mobile software applications will account for 81% of the total 2018, which only accounted for a mere 22% in 2012.
Mobile device security has become a focal area for improvement since the proliferation of smart phones and tablets. 24/7 access to applications is the new must-have service, which is no different in the online banking world, according to the research group. Improving access and mobility is central to current banking service strategies, but security must be of a level to deter/defeat the...
|
Read more »
Aug 02
Worldwide IT outsourcing market to reach $288 billion...
The worldwide IT outsourcing (ITO) market is forecast to reach US$288 billion in 2013, a 2.8% increase in U.S. dollars (and 5.1% in constant currency) from 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. Compared with Gartner's previous forecast, nearly all ITO segments are now forecast to grow more slowly during 2013, says the research group.
"We continue to see overall market growth being constrained by near-term market factors, such as evolving ITO delivery models, economic, political and labor conditions, and service provider financial performance," says Bryan Britz, research vice president at Gartner. "Mature Asia/Pacific and Western Europe are the regions where the outlook is most tempered, partly due to currency but also reflective of our view that 2013 is likely to be similar to 2012 in these regions."
Gartner's forecast includes slight upward revisions for both custom application outsourcing and infrastructure utility services (IUS) for 2014 through 2017. Although...
|
Read more »
Aug 01
Global smartphone market to grow at CAGR of 10%...
Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) says their research shows that the global smartphone market will grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 10% through 2016.
Commenting on the report, an analyst from the team said: "Global smartphone vendors such as Samsung and Apple make huge investments in their R&D divisions. One of the main reasons for this huge investment is the stiff competition among the smartphone vendors in the market. The increasing R&D investment enables the vendors to launch new, sophisticated, and appealing smartphones with advanced technology, giving vendors a competitive edge over other players. Therefore, increased R&D spending is an emerging trend that many global smartphone vendors are following to stay on top in the market."
According to the report, one of the major drivers is the continual decline in smartphone prices. Since the...
|
Read more »
Jul 31
Desktop social patterns vs. mobile device social...
In a new study of social behavior across devices, ShareThis (www.sharethis.com) has revealed important insights into what people are sharing, on which devices, and the social networks they are sharing to the most.
The cross-device research compared 4.9 billion social patterns across desktop web and 1.2 billion social patterns across mobile web. Key findings include:
° The mobile web is twice as social as desktop: consumers are nearly twice as likely to click and share content on social networks through mobile devices as opposed to desktops.
° The iPhone is the most social device: users are three times more likely to share content via their iPhone versus the desktop and one and a half times more likely to share on an iPhone versus all other mobile devices.
° Sharing activity on mobile is dominated by Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest: Facebook accounts for 60 % of sharing on mobile and...
|
Read more »
Jul 30
Hardware encryption market to be worth $166.7 billion...
According to MarketsandMarkets (www.marketsandmarkets.com) the total hardware encryption market is expected to reach roughly US$166.67 billion by 2018, growing at an explosive CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 62.17% for the period of 2013 to 2018.
Encryption of data is a process of converting it into a form, where it becomes unintelligible to any person without access to a key/password to decrypt the data. The two forms of encryption that exist currently are the hardware-based encryption and software based encryption.
The major difference between hardware encryption and software encryption is that in hardware encryption, the encryption and decryption processes are done by a dedicated processor on the hardware encrypted device. In software encryption, the resources of the device on which the software is installed, are used for the encrypting and decrypting the data. This makes...
|
Read more »
Jul 29
Mobile advertising to account for 4.4% of total global...
According to new data from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com), the total value of the global mobile marketing and advertising market will grow from 3.8 billion in 2011 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31% to 19.7 billion in 2017.
This will then correspond to 15.5% of the total online advertising market or 4.4 percent of the total global ad spend for all media, notes the research group. As the digital convergence blurs the differences between devices, the definition used for mobile advertising is that it comprises the digital ads exposed on a mobile handset screen.
Consumers are currently devoting a quarter of their media consumption time on mobile devices, yet the channel only attracts slightly more than 1% of the ad dollars, says Rickard Andersson, telecom analyst, Research and Markets.
While the transition of advertising expenditure from traditional...
|
Read more »
Jul 26
Robust traffic spurs demand for 3G/4G gateways
ABI Research (www.abirsearch.com) has found that the overall 2012 wireless network equipment market was quite challenging for infrastructure vendors, but the incessant demand for 3G and 4G mobile broadband will continue to drive demand for mobile packet core equipment. The Mobile Packet Data Core Network infrastructure market will reach $1.8B in 2013.
"Continued growth in 3G and 4G traffic will propel the Mobile Packet Core Infrastructure to a cumulative $10B market over the next five years," says Joe Hoffman, principal analyst at ABI Research.
The overall mobile core network equipment market declined 12% in Q1 2013 from the rather moribund Q4 2012. Reflecting increased data demand, the packet data core market continues to expand and is up 22% over Q4 2012, and up 30% over the trailing 12 months. In North America the hugely popular success of LTE is rapidly supplanting 2G and 3G traffic and...
|
Read more »
Jul 25
Computer graphics market to exceed $142 billion by...
The computer graphics (CG) industry has been a growth industry since it was established in the late 1970s. It has weathered the storms of the recession over the last five years and is now showing signs of renewed vigor and potential, partly due to a big boost from mobile, according to new data from the Jon Peddie research group (www.jonpeddie.com).
The computer graphics hardware market was worth US$93 billion in 2010 and is expected to exceed $107 billion in 2013, with software growing slight faster than hardware, says Jon Peddie. In 2012 the CG software market was worth $14 billion (not counting services, maintenance and other aspects) and is expected to grow to $17 billion by 2013 as the industry shakes off the remaining effects of the recession and starts upgrading software tools.
The sharp curtailment of household and corporate spending during the recession has resulted in a renewed desire among...
|
Read more »
Jul 24
Cyber security spending in critical infrastructure to...
The digitization of critical infrastructures has provided substantial benefits in terms of socio-economic developments -- improved productivity, better connectivity, greater efficiencies. Yet some of these attributes also carry significant risks.
Always-on Internet connectivity has ushered in a new cyber-age where the stakes are higher. Disruption and destruction through malicious online activities are the new reality: cyber-espionage, cyber-crime, and cyber-terrorism. Despite the seemingly virtual nature of these threats, the physical consequences can be quite tangible.
The cyber protection of critical infrastructure has become the most immediate primary concern for nation states. The public revelation of wide-spread state-sponsored cyber-espionage presages an era of information and cyber warfare on a global scale between countries, political groups, hacktivists, organized crime syndicates, and civilian society -- in short, to anyone with access to an Internet-...
|
Read more »
Jul 22
LTE to deliver 178 million subscriptions this year
ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) has been actively tracking the LTE market, assessing operator commitments both current and future. Out of 470 LTE commitments tracked, 193 have gone commercial. Over the next two years, the research group anticipates another 123 network commitments to go commercial. Additionally, ABI Research is currently tracking 69 LTE-TDD commitments.
"By 2018, LTE deployments should deliver population coverage of 57% (4.2 billion) and 31% (2.3 billion) in legacy WCDMA and CDMA2000 markets respectively. Significantly, LTE-TDD coverage should achieve 49% population coverage by the end of the five year period," says Jake Saunders, vice president of forecasting at ABI Research.
These coverage targets will be driven by macrocells and small cells. By 2018, the number of LTE macrocell base stations will reach 2.43 million to achieve the population coverage targets. Small cells are an...
|
Read more »
Jul 19
Mobile developers embracing Near Field Communications
Over 31% of mobile developers today are supporting Near Field Communications (NFC) in their mobile apps, but an additional 45% plan to support this technology in the next 12 months, according to Evans Data Corp's newly released "Mobile Development Survey."
The survey, conducted in May 2013 with over 500 developers actively working on mobile apps, found that more developers have plans to support NFC in the near future than any of several other device features, including voice recognition, range finder, and device pairing. The primary driver for NFC support is security and access (keycards and dongles, identity, entry and access, boarding passes and transponders). Other popular drivers for NFC support are social networking, Bluetooth and wi-fi connectivity, and commerce.
"NFC is the next evolutionary step in mobile computing," said Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data Corp. (http://www.evansdata.com). "...
|
Read more »
Jul 18
Worldwide IT spending on pace to reach $3.7 trillion...
Worldwide IT spending is projected to total US$3.7 trillion in 2013, a 2% increase from 2012 spending of $3.6 trillion, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). Last quarter, the research group's forecast for 2013 IT spending growth in U.S. dollars was 4.1%.
The 2.1 percentage point reduction mainly reflects the impact of recent fluctuations in U.S. dollar exchange rates; growth in constant currency is forecast at 3.5 percent for 2013, down only slightly from last quarter. For more than a decade, global IT and business executives have been using these highly anticipated quarterly reports to recognize market opportunities and challenges, and base their critical business decisions on proven methodologies rather than guesswork.
"Exchange rate movements, and a reduction in our 2013 forecast for devices, account for the bulk of the downward revision of the 2013 growth," says Richard...
|
Read more »
Jul 17
Worldwide enterprise app store adoption to triple by...
ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) predicts the number of large enterprises to adopt enterprise app stores will grow at double-digit rates through 2018.
Globally, large enterprise app store adoption will grow at 30.4% YoY [year-over-year] with the manufacturing and trade industries commanding the largest share of app deployments. North American and Western European enterprise app store adoption will grow healthily at 20.7% and 21.5%, respectively, but Asia-Pacific will have the most enterprises with enterprise app stores by 2018 growing at 59% YoY.
"Mobile application management is growing in popularity among enterprises looking to deploy flexible mobile solutions to support Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) initiatives," says ABI Research senior analyst, Jason McNicol. "The problem is finding a scalable solution to deploy enterprise apps without placing additional burdens on IT departments. Enterprise...
|
Read more »
Jul 16
TV Everywhere grows, but content rights still slowing...
Nearly one-third of US Telco TV households are expected to access multiscreen or TV Everywhere services by the end of 2013 -- the vast majority of which already use advanced interactive features like remote programming a DVR.
Cable is close behind due to its early lead, but the growth rate for these services is slower because of the greater diversity of cable households and services (not all service providers offer TVE), according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) Satellite operators are further behind, due to slower starts and lack of in-house broadband services, but offer some novel experiences like Dish’s Sling place-shifting technology, says the research group.
"The market is still developing with many of the early growing pains, like authentication, finally starting to take a back seat to the content," comments senior analyst, Michael Inouye. "In many respects the technology is in place to...
|
Read more »
Jul 15
NAS market to grow at CAGR of 14.7%
Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) says the global computer NAS market will grow at a at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 14.7% through 2016.
One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the rapid growth in digital content globally, according to the research group. The Global Consumer NAS market has also been witnessing the increasing adoption of video surveillance services for households. However, the lack of technical knowledge about NAS appliances among the end-users could pose a challenge to the growth of this market. Key vendors dominating this space include Apple, Buffalo Technology, Iomega and Western Digital.
Commenting on the report, an analyst from Research and Market's Networking team said: One of the major trends being observed in the Global Consumer NAS market is the increasing adoption of video surveillance services by the end-users....
|
Read more »
Jul 11
Enterprise mobility market to grow at CAGR of 13.8%
Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) says the enterprise mobility market in the Americas will grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 13.8% through 2016.
One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the need for real-time decision making, according to the research group. The enterprise mobility market in the Americas has also been witnessing an increased adoption of bring your own device policy. However, the growing concern for data security could pose a challenge to the growth of this market. The key vendors dominating this market space include Apple, Google, Microsoft and Research in Motion, says Research and Markets.
Commenting on the report, an analyst from the Telecom team said: "As a result of the growing adoption of enterprise mobility services, organizations are changing their device procurement processes. Earlier, companies had very strict...
|
Read more »
Jul 10
48% of smartphone owners rely on apps for daily info
According to new data from Parks Associates (www.parkassociates.com), 48% of U.S. smartphone owners currently use apps heavily for daily information and entertainment, while 15% use the phone to order food and 12% use it to shop for physical goods.
"Consumers are still concerned about the security of mobile payments, but these issues are less of a barrier for younger consumers -- over 60% of users 18-24 have made a mobile purchase in the past 30 days," says Jennifer Kent, Parks Associates mobile analyst. "The industry can employ non-payment offerings to show more consumers the benefits of mobile commerce, and as payment security standards improve, consumers' comfort level with mobile payments will rise."
By 2015, 84% of mobile subscribers in North America and 88% in Western Europe will be smartphone users. "Mobile payments in emerging markets pose enormous revenue potential for mobile carriers...
|
Read more »
Jul 09
Automotive app revenue to hit $1.67 billion by 2018
ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) forecasts that the number of automotive apps downloaded in cars will jump from around 12 million at end of 2012 to 4.3 billion at end of 2018 generating revenues of US$1.67 globally.
"Car OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] now increasingly see infotainment as a key differentiator in their cars," says Gareth Owen, principal analyst at ABI Research. "We predict a sharp growth in the adoption of connected car infotainment systems over the next few years, with apps being the main driver, as for the iPhone."
With several proprietary, open standard, and open source systems vying to become the de-facto technology for downloading apps in the car, the battle for domination of the automotive app space is heating up, as car OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, plus behemoths such as Apple and Google maneuver to capture the biggest slice of the automotive app cake. ABI Research also...
|
Read more »
Jul 08
IDC: business analytics software market to continue...
The worldwide business analytics software market is expected to grow at a 9.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2017, according to a new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC). Demand for business analytics solutions will continue to be driven by the promise of better and faster decision-making and competitive advantage that results from the ability to analyze and act upon information in a timely manner, according to the research group.
"There is growing quantifiable evidence that data-driven decision making enabled by business analytics solutions provides a competitive difference," says Dan Vesset, program vice president, Business Analytics at IDC (www.idc.com). "This, along with broad interest in big data, has pushed the technology to the top of many executive agendas and ushered it into the mainstream market."
In 2012, the worldwide business analytics software market grew 8.7% year over year...
|
Read more »
Jul 08
Social networking/M2M to play key role in Internet of...
A new study from ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) finds that integration with social networks will add significant value to enterprises’ M2M strategies in the coming years.
Initially, this trend will concern companies’ internal social channels, such as Salesforce.com’s Chatter, which is forecasted to be actively used by 60,000 enterprises at end-2013. Going forward, the emphasis will shift towards Facebook and other consumer-facing networks, which ABI Research forecasts to cover 2.9 billion users by end-2018.
"There’s an intriguing intersection developing around social networks and M2M services," says senior analyst Aapo Markkanen. "At this stage the activity is nascent, but over the next five years we expect the relationship between the two to become increasingly synergistic. The innovations it results in will add a strong social ingredient to the decade’s true megatrend: the Internet of...
|
Read more »
Jul 05
Americans not happy with brands that have poor...
SOASTA (www.soasta.com), which specializes in cloud and mobile testing,has announced the findings of its "2013 Website and Mobile App Survey." Conducted online by Harris Interactive, the SOASTA survey questioned 2,046 American adults.
The survey found that almost nine out of 10 Americans associate negative feelings with brands that have poorly performing websites and mobile apps (88%), and have a negative reaction when a website is too slow (83%).
"Just as brick-and-mortar businesses invest heavily in their store front to represent their brand image, our research shows that ecommerce retailers need to create a similar high quality online experience in keeping with the brand perception," says Tom Lounibos, SOASTA CEO. "If companies want to remain competitive in the modern landscape, they need their web and mobile websites to engage the user and work as expected. Those that are creating a seamless...
|
Read more »
Jul 03
Shipments of NFC-enabled handsets grew 300% in 2012
According to a new research report by Berg Insight (www.berginsight.com), global sales of handsets featuring Near Field Communication (NFC) grew 300% in 2012 to reach 140 million units. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.2%, annual shipments are forecasted to reach 1 billion units by 2017.
Wider adoption of NFC in mobile phones began in 2011 and accelerated in 2012 when the top 10 handset vendors released nearly 100 NFC-enabled models. NFC technology enables numerous applications such as information exchange, device pairing for establishing Bluetooth or WLAN connections, access control, electronic ticketing and secure contactless payments.
However, Berg Insight anticipates that it will take some time before the stakeholders agree on business models for payment networks and access to secure elements that store the sensitive user information in NFC-enabled handsets. Once developers...
|
Read more »
