Analyst Blog

In the U.S., 135 million people play at least one hour of games per month (compared to 56 million in 2008). Most of the new gamers belong to more casual segments and have been attracted to the gaming world by smartphones, tablets, and social and free-to-play games. 

New devices and monetization models have made it easier for more people from diverse segments to try and play games. Gaming on tablets is particularly popular among owners of these devices.

2012 will - ...read more

...and do they care enough to take action? The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) recently published findings on online behavioral advertising (OBA) awareness and opt-out levels. In August 2011, Parks Associates tested recall and response rates to self-regulatory efforts giving consumers the option to opt-out of OBA. In review of the NAI’s findings, Parks Associates decided - ...read more

Second-screen content and ad integration will take off in 2012. Almost 20% of U.S. smartphone and tablet owners currently search for TV program information on their device while watching TV, despite the limited availability of synced applications. Creating and enhancing second-screen synergies offer new revenue streams and ad inventory opportunities.

Consumers are becoming more comfortable with personalized TV and Internet advertising. Over one-third of TV and Internet users are - ...read more

Sales of digital video media receivers, including Apple TV and Roku, were strong in the recent holiday season, with penetration approaching 13% of U.S. broadband households and matching the 2011 forecasts from the international research firm Parks Associates.

The firm forecasts over 14 million units will sell in 2012. These strong device sales indicate increasing consumer interest in nontraditional approaches to video access. ...read more

Parks Associates reports are invaluable for strategic planning, competitive intelligence, and market insight.

Industry Reports:
Broadband Services: Global Outlook (Third Edition) - North America - This report analyzes service adoption, provider activities, regulatory issues, technologies, and trends for the North American consumer broadband market.

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Google Inc. is developing a home-entertainment system that streams music wirelessly throughout the home and would be marketed under the company's own brand.

The effort marks a sharp shift in strategy for Google, which for the first would time would design and market consumer electronic devices under the Google brand. Google has up to now mainly focused on developing the operating system that powers devices such as smartphones, tablets and televisions and allowing other companies - ...read more

Global smartphone shipments exceeded 460 million units in 2011 and will reach 1.3 billion units in 2016. Smartphones drive mobile data adoption, putting more pressure on mobile operators' network capacity management and data plan pricing models. Smartphone user growth translates into skyrocketing mobile data usage, which will test network capacity as well as pricing power of the operators. Operators have several solutions to manage this data traffic:
1. Intelligent network policy - ...read more

The percentage of U.S. gamers who regularly download games or gaming apps to their mobile devices increased from 7% in 2008 to 18% in 2011, growing in parallel with rising adoption of smartphones and tablets, according to a new whitepaper from Parks Associates. Among tablet owners, 71% of adults and 79% of teens play games on the device at least one hour per month. This growth of mobile gaming is expanding the revenue stream for Facebook games, where gamers already spend $29 per month, and - ...read more

Eastman Kodak Co, the inventor of the handheld camera and digital camera, plans to get out of that business in the first half of the year as the bankrupt company looks to cut costs. As the quality of digital cameras in cellphones have improved, stand-alone cameras have lost their appeal.The decision to stop selling digital cameras along with pocket - ...read more

Worldwide sales of "fixed" connected consumer electronics such as smart TVs, connected Blu-ray players, game consoles, and digital video media players will grow from 156 million in 2011 to more than 320 million in 2016. Regardless of whether Apple enters the smart TV market with its "iTV" product, gesture recognition and voice control will be defining features of the smart TV experience. Trends to watch in the smart TV - ...read more