The current popularity of consumer-focused connected health devices, whether fitness-tracking wristbands, smart bathroom scales or simply dedicated apps that run on an existing smartphone, is poised to make more consumers proactive about their well-being but is also set to play a huge role in the future of healthcare.
Research by Parks Associates suggests that 30per cent of US broadband homes already own some form of connected health device and that by 2016, over 32 million US consumers will be actively tracking their personal health and fitness -- either online or via a mobile device of some description.
At the same time, the use of wearable devices in the health and medical field, for monitoring vital signs such as insulin levels and blood pressure, is also growing and, according to Harry Wang, Parks Associates director of health and mobile product research, a converge is coming. Writing in the May edition of the research firm's Digital Health News, he states: "the design trends for wearables in the medical field follow what is happening in the fitness area -- they are becoming more discreet, with more user-centric designs and highly integrated functions."
From the article "Today's wearables shaping tomorrow's healthcare."
Approximately 12 percent of broadband households in Canada have a smart home device such as a smart thermostat, smart door look, or video doorbell, compared to 26 percent in the US, according to data...
US broadband households watch an average of 3.8 hours of internet video on TV screens each week, accounting for 20 percent of all video viewed on this device, according to research by Parks Associates...
Other barriers for increasing adoption are concerns about security and privacy. With more reports in mainstream media about smart home devices being hacked, the public awareness of this issue has incr...
Antenna use is on the rise. According to Parks Associates, 15 percent of U.S. homes with broadband service used an antenna instead of traditional pay TV service in Q3 2016, up from around 10 percent a...
