CONNECTIONS™ Industry Insights

Chamtech Enteprises, a start-up company unveiled at a recent Google event, has an answer to the problems of poor cellphone reception and other shortcomings of traditional antennas.The company has developed a spray-on antenna that it says is more lightweight, energy-efficient and effective than the old-school version.

The Sandy, Utah-based start-up’s nanotechnology, can be painted onto a tree, a wall, the ground or even the back of a soldier, enabling a more portable, - ...read more

PayPal plans to subsidize its new service, implying merchants may pay less than they currently do for transactions done through established debit and credit payment processors.

To sweeten the deal and get the world's top retailers on board, PayPal also plans to share more data on purchases and shopping activity. eBay Inc, which owns PayPal, has set a public goal of 20 major retailers testing the point-of-sale service by the end of 2012. Home Depot, the largest home improvement - ...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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Parks Associates would like to thank Allegro for sponsoring the 16th annual CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase at TIA , June 5-7 at the Gaylord Texas Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

The Internet is the dominant way that people use connect to - ...read more

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

The global marketplace for broadband services is dynamic and growing. At the end of 2011, approximately 660 million households subscribed to an Internet service, and about 580 million, 32% of all global households, received broadband service.

The populous countries in Western Europe have high broadband penetration - but - ...read more

Verizon and Coinstar recently announced a long-rumored joint venture, combining a new video download and streaming service from Verizon with Coinstar’s popular Redbox kiosk rentals of DVDs, Blu-rays and video games.

The service will launch in the second half of 2012. Redbox also announced it would acquire onetime rival, NCR’s Blockbuster Express, for approximately $100 million. Verizon owns 65% of the new limited liability company, and Coinstar owns 35% of the - ...read more

Touch screens have advanced from relative obscurity in the early 1990s to become the dominant user interface technology in mobile devices today. The industry is constantly reaching for improvements in the resolution of the display, in capacitive 2-D sensing incorporating multi-touch, and the overall computing power of the device. As a result, manufacturers have been able to create a new generation of handheld devices making the internet mobile; however, the success of such products today - ...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 - ...read more

Verizon Wireless recently announced it invested $159 million in 2011 to enhance its network in Indiana, which includes the expansion of 4G LTE to 23 Hoosier cities, 10 major universities and four professional sporting venues.

The company's continuing investment to support Indiana's infrastructure required for economic development and robust business growth included: adding new cell sites and upgrading equipment on existing cell sites to increase coverage and capacity of the - ...read more