Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors

The company is still “number one,” said Elizabeth Parks, president of market research firm Parks Associates in Dallas. But it’s a shaky number one. Parks estimates that iRobot had nearly two-thirds of the robot vacuum market in 2018, but now holds only a 48 percent share. Meanwhile, rival robot makers like SharkNinja, Roborock, Eufy, and Ecovacs have been steadily chipping away.

One possible reason, according to Parks, is concern about data privacy. More advanced versions of the Roomba and other robots use visual sensors to generate detailed maps of the user’s home. This information is shared with the manufacturers to develop more advanced products, but it could also potentially be used to monitor users.

From the article, "IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors" by Hiawatha Bray

Previously In The News

Netflix Has Been Secretly Slowing Down Your Videos For The Past Five Years

More than half of all U.S. households with broadband subscribe to Netflix, according to Parks Associates. Competitors such as Amazon video are in a quarter of broadband households and Hulu is in about...

The Era Of IoT: Opportunities For Privacy And Security Providers

The Internet of Things (IoT) growth in broadband households opens up opportunities for companies to sell products and services. Companies developing, manufacturing, and marketing products benefit, and...

Streaming 4K yet? AT&T adds unlimited data option to U-Verse

Despite the added fee, the unlimited plan will resonate with a distinct group of users, particularly gamers and online video addicts. AT&T will send warnings to anyone who is getting close to their da...

The Idiocy of Things Requires an “Information Habeas Corpus”!

The public is awakening to the new Orwellian threat of big data while acknowledging all its potential benefits. We do not need many of the products promoted for profit in the Internet of Things. New s...