MultiMedia Intelligence: Teen Mobile Market Reach Saturation
The US 12-17 teen cellular subscribers surpassed 16 million in 2007, according to market research and consultancy, MultiMedia Intelligence. This is up 12% from 2006.
By 2012, the number of teen subscribers will reach 17 million, a delta of only 1 million subscribers from 2007. Wireless penetration rates for teens are reaching saturation, resulting in stagnating growth. Since the teen market is not a multiple handset demographic, subscriber growth is forced to slow.
"The teen market has been the 'golden child' for cellular providers in the US," according to Frank Dickson, Chief Research Officer for MultiMedia Intelligence. "In addition to growing subscribers, teen ARPU has been growing higher than that of the overall market. Teens simply use their phones to do more, from text messaging to purchasing premium content. However, pricing pressures and teen cellular saturation are bringing an end to the teen cellular gold rush."
Key findings regarding teen wireless subscribers include:
- Subscriber growth is seasonal, with Q3 and Q4 the stronger quarters.
- Over half of teens are cellular subscribers by age 13.
- On average, girls mature cellularly early than boys. Even at the higher age groups, teen female subscribers outnumber male subscribers. However, the gap among those in the 17 year old age group has narrowed greatly.
- The Hispanic teen market has become significant, projected to approach 3 million subscribers by 2012.
The research, "The Maturing Wireless Teen Market: 12-17 US Teen Wireless Subscribers, Revenue, ARPU and Content," analyzes the US 12-17 year old teen wireless market in terms of subscribers, ARPU, and revenue. Forecasts and segmentation are provided on an annual and a quarterly basis by race, age and sex. A special emphasis is placed on examining the market on a gender by age perspective as well as the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity.
The research relies on the strength of supply side models of MultiMedia Intelligence and primary-based survey data of 2,000 to 2,500 teens annually from the Simmons National Consumer study, a product of Experian Consumer Research. The result is integrated research, creating exceptional insights on an under researched market.
This research is a result of MultiMedia Intelligence's strategic partnership with Experian. The partnership combines MultiMedia Intelligence's vast industry expertise, market sizing and forecasting models and databases with Experian's in-depth data on consumer behavior, psychographics, lifestyles, opinions and attitudes. Together, they deliver industry-first market segmentation, insights and forecasts based on combined superior supply-side and demand-side views of the markets, never before offered in this data driven, data hungry market.
MultiMedia Intelligence, a market research and consultancy firm, specializes on the markets and technologies for delivering and monetizing digital content and services across multiple platforms. We look beyond the classic 'three screens,' which include TVs, mobile handsets, and computers. We put markets into the broader context of the industry ecosystems that are converging and changing traditional business models. [FierceWireless]
RFID Integrators Must Prepare For Shifting Market
Only a couple of years ago, companies specializing in RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) integration services could succeed by offering clients their specialized knowledge of how RFID technology worked – or, in some cases, didn’t work.
Today, RFID works well out of the box, and according to a new study from ABI Research, it is time for RFID integrators to think about repositioning themselves.
Principal analyst Pete Poorman explains: “While the opportunity is still there for technology specialists, the market is evolving such that increasingly they must deeply understand some specific application.
RFID systems integrators can still do business today as boutique specialists, but they need to have a strategy to expand their value proposition. The vendors profiled in our new report all have such strategies.”
A common approach is to address a particular well-understood vertical market, and an example of a company following that strategy is CACI International. CACI has one customer, the US government, in particular its military branches. With that tight vertical focus, it has the insight and the appropriate knowledge, and can “talk the talk” as required.
Another strategy is to augment services with packaged product offerings, as RFID equipment increasingly obviates the need for deeply-technical integration services. High-profile vendor Xterprise appears to be choosing this path.
Still other vendors are doubling down on their technology expertise. This involves repositioning themselves from being frontline solutions providers to taking a second-tier role. “Companies choosing to remain technology-focused are looking to channels to provide the deep vertical market knowledge,” says Poorman. One example is Intermec, which has packaged its full suite of RFID integration services for delivery through channels.
Whatever formula is chosen, says Poorman, the key message to RFID integrators is: “You can’t stay where you are: the highly valued technical knowledge you deliver today will become more common as time passes and, ultimately, be embedded in products. Your services offerings must adapt to this market change.” [ABI Research]
Working With a Net, but No Wires
On-the-go Internet users are an attractive demographic.
According to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 34% of Internet users have connected using a wireless network. And 27% of Internet users have connected wirelessly from someplace other than home or work.
Why should online marketers care how people get online?
For starters, wireless users are more frequent Internet users: 72% of wireless users check e-mail on the typical day, compared with 63% of home broadband users and 54% of all Internet users.
In addition, 46% of wireless users get news online during the typical day, compared with 38% of home broadband users and 31% of all Internet users.
Most wireless users (80%) have broadband connections at home, so they are hardly dependent on public wireless access nodes. Rather, wireless users may be viewed as "deeper" Internet users than those who use wired connections exclusively.
Read more
Forecast: Chinese value-added services to boom
A new report issued by telecom consulting firm Ovum forecasts considerable growth for the Chinese wireless value-added services market, anticipating revenues of $11.5 billion by 2010, an increase of 48 percent over June 2006 figures. According to Ovum, SMS, ringback tones and WAP are the fastest-growing services among China's 437 million mobile users, although 3G-enabled applications like location-based services, mobile blogging and mobile payments could become particularly popular given the large landmass and the high mobility of the Chinese population.
"Messaging will continue to dominate the [wireless value-added services] sector, contributing to over 63% of total VAS revenues in 2010," Ovum senior analyst Kevin Lee said in a prepared statement. "The growth of the wireless value-added services market in China will likely be driven by the latest change of VAS policy, availability of converged terminals, strong economic growth, rising customer awareness and demand, and increasing foreign investment."
More info read: Chinese Wireless Value-Added Services Market has Room to Grow
Apple announces iPhone, hints at Beatles content deal
After months of rumors and speculation, Apple finally unveiled its iPhone hybrid device during CEO Steve Jobs' keynote appearance at the Consumer Electronics Shows (SEC) in Las Vegas. The reality of the iPhone matches closely with the conjecture that anticipated the announcement: It is a quad-band GSM mobile phone, a widescreen iPod music/video player and Internet communications device all in one, complete with the function-over-form user interface hallmarks that are Apple's signature.
As expected, Cingular Wireless will serve as Apple's exclusive carrier partner, and both Apple and Cingular stores will carry the iPhone when it reaches the U.S. market in June 2007; the 4GB model will retail for $499, while the 8GB model will carry a price tag of $599.
From a content standpoint, the most compelling iPhone news is unofficial -- by spotlighting the Beatles' "Lovely Rita" during the CES iPhone demo, Jobs implicitly acknowledged that Apple finally secured digital distribution rights to the Fab Four's back catalog. No official announcement on a licensing deal was forthcoming, but music biz insiders confirm an agreement is in place.
The two entities already share a long history, most of it tempestuous: Branding conflicts have kept Jobs' Apple in legal battle with the Beatles' Apple Corps for two decades, culminating in mid-2006 when a British judge ruled that iTunes did not violate a 1991 agreement stipulating the Apple Computer could continue doing business under the Apple name as long as the technology maker steered clear of the music industry.
Interestingly, Jobs announced Tuesday that his company was officially updating its name from Apple Computer to Apple Inc., although it's unclear what if anything the change portends in regards to its relationship with Apple Corps.
In any case, the Beatles' pending iTunes arrival represents Apple Inc.'s most significant content agreement to date, in any medium. The Beatles catalog is the crown jewel of 20th century popular culture--no other music appeals to so many fans across so many successive generations, and no TV series, movie or novel can claim the band's sheer timelessness and cultural influence. With traditional album sales waning, brick-and-mortar retailers closing and download revenues rising, the end of the Beatles' iTunes holdout signifies the completion of the music industry's evolution into a business driven by digital sales.
The real questions now are what form the Beatles catalog will take once it hits iTunes, and how today's non-announcement ties to the iPhone. It's worth noting the Beatles catalog has not undergone a sonic upgrade or digital remastering since it first premiered on CD in 1987. (Insert your own "It was 20 years ago today" gag here--Jobs already made his joke by playing a cut from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.")
According to insider accounts, EMI Music (owner of the Beatles' masters) completed a full catalog overhaul in 2006 prior to the release of the box set "The Capitol Albums Vol. 2," although improved and/or expanded editions of the classic LPs have yet to materialize at retail. Expect iTunes to roll out these remastered versions of "Rubber Soul," "Revolver," etc. instead.
As for the iPhone connection, think back to late 2004, when Apple introduced a special edition U2 iPod preloaded with the Irish band's then-new "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" as well as other catalog highlights--should the iPhone hit the market with preloaded Beatles content, particularly with remastered sound or with previously unreleased material like studio outtakes, retailers won't be able to keep the device in stock.
Source: FierceMobileContent.
ZigBee to Find Traction in Commercial Building Automation in 2008
Sensor networking technology ZigBee should start finding significant adoption in commercial building applications in 2008, according to a new study published by ABI Research.
There are three major markets for sensor networking: the home, commercial buildings, and industrial facilities, and ZigBee aims to cover them all. In the home, there are alternatives to ZigBee, and in industry there are some questions about its suitability. But according to senior analyst Sam Lucero, commercial building automation is a market where ZigBee is competitively positioned against other wireless sensor technologies.
"Commercial buildings represent a huge addressable market of field equipment currently using wired field buses to connect sensors and actuators with lighting, heating, ventilation, access control, and safety systems," he says. "ZigBee's features and functionality are very well suited to commercial building applications."
Of the five top vendors of building automation systems, which together control about 70% of the market, four — Johnson Controls, Siemens, TAC, and Trane — have introduced wireless products based on ZigBee in the past year, and the fifth — Honeywell — is moving toward doing so.
Over the next five years, up to 20% of commercial building automation system field equipment may "go wireless," seeking the lower costs, better control, and greater flexibility that such systems deliver. However, there are regional differences: in North America and Europe, commercial building markets are largely mature, while greater "greenfield" opportunities can be found in Asia. Asian markets are fragmented, and we may see a rash of acquisitions as the "big five" push into the region.
"In North America and Europe, this is a tough and conservative market," says Lucero. "We are hearing that building owners and managers in Asia are more interested in using wireless than their counterparts in North America and Europe, where it is more a question of replacing existing wires." ABI Research also believes that a lot of the growth will come from new, application-specific deployments in selected vertical industries.
Lucero concludes that, "The mainstream market is clearly moving ahead with ZigBee for automation, so smaller players that do not have a wireless strategy formulated (or are in the process of creating one) will be at a disadvantage."
Source: ABI Research
Zune Hits US Consumer Market on November 14, 2006
Microsoft Corp. is putting the social into digital music, starting this holiday. Today the company announced that the Zune digital media player and online service will be available to consumers in the U.S. on Nov. 14, 2006, just in time for the holidays. The Zune device will retail for $249.99 U.S. (ERP) and will create new ways for entertainment fans to connect and share media experiences device-to-device through the use of wireless technology and new software scenarios.
For $249.99, consumers will get an incredible entertainment experience right out of the box:
- 30GB digital media player will come equipped with wireless functionality for Zune-to-Zune sharing of music, pictures and home recordings; a bright, three-inch LCD video screen that works in portrait or landscape mode to view pictures and videos; and a built-in FM tuner. The device will be available in three colors: black, brown and white.
- A selection of preloaded content including songs, music videos and film shorts are installed on the device's hard drive to help consumers discover new artists and entertainment.
Zune makes it easy to find music you love -- whether it's songs in your existing library or new music from the Zune Marketplace:
- Its dynamic music service will be continually updated with new content and experiences so there is always something to discover. The Zune Marketplace lets users browse and purchase songs individually.
- A Zune Pass subscription gives consumers access to millions of songs for $14.99 per month.
- Users can purchase songs individually using Microsoft Points for 79 points per track. Similar to a pre-paid phone card, Microsoft Points is a stored value system that can be redeemed at a growing number of online stores, including the Xbox Live Marketplace.
In addition, consumers can choose from a full line of accessories to enhance the Zune experience and help Zune users enjoy their entertainment where they want to, at home or on the road. Accessories range in price from $19.99 to $99.99.
"On Nov. 14 we're delivering not only a device, but a shared, social experience that will be shaped by the collective imagination of consumers," said Chris Stephenson, general manager of global marketing for Zune. "We're infusing the spirit of discovery and sharing into everything we do -- from the experience we crafted around the device and service to pre-loading music and videos on every device to expose people to something new."
Zune is a vehicle to explore new sounds and experiences. With that in mind, Microsoft pre-loaded each Zune device with a variety of songs and music videos from hot, new artists as well as some fun films and images. With something for everyone, the pre-loaded Zune content may just help you discover your new favorite band.
Zune Accessories
For entertainment fans who want to experience their media from anywhere, Microsoft will offer the following accessories: --
- Zune Home A/V Pack. The Home A/V Pack includes everything you need to amplify your Zune experience. This set of five products integrates Zune with your big-screen TV and the best speakers in your house. The wireless remote puts you in control from virtually anywhere in the room. When you buy the Zune Home AV Pack, you'll get the AV Output Cable, Zune Dock, Zune Wireless Remote with Lithium Battery, Zune Sync Cable and Zune AC Adapter for $99.99.
- Zune Travel Pack. The Travel Pack includes everything you need to travel with your Zune device in style. This set of five products is designed to keep you and your friends and family entertained while you travel. When you buy the Zune Travel Pack, you'll get the Zune Dual Connect Remote, Zune Premium Earphones, Zune Gear Bag, Zune Sync Cable and Zune AC Adapter for $99.99.
- Zune Car Pack. The Car Pack includes everything you need to hit the road with your Zune device. With AutoSeek, setup is easy, and you can enjoy your music on the go and charge at the same time. When you buy the Zune Car Pack, you'll get the FM tuner with AutoSeek and the Zune Car Charger for $79.99.
Source: ABI Research Wireless
Flickr Photostream-
- Copyright © 2008-2011 ICT & Internet Business. All Rights Reserved. Powered by Blogger
- Back To Top
- Log in
- Blogger
- Home
Recent Comments-