Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Why is Apple customers' appetite for its products insatiable?

Besides new phones, Apple is expected to significantly upgrade its Apple TV set-top box, which has barely changed since it went on sale in March 2012. The key difference in the new one, expected to cost about $149, will be voice-activated searching (using Siri) and control across multiple sources of content such as Netflix and iTunes, plus the App Store allied to a motion-sensitive controller, rather like Nintendo’s Wii.

The changes look timely, if not overdue. Apple TV is outsold by challengers including Amazon and Google, according to market research firm Parks Associates. Amazon’s Fire TV set-top box already has a voice-controlled interface, and Google’s Chromecast plug-in stick can be used to ‘cast’ content directly from a computer or phone to the TV. But there is plenty of room for growth, as only 20% of US households with broadband have a streaming device, the report found.

The refreshed Apple TV could also add the capability to play games and other apps. With gaming already a huge pursuit on smartphones, the prospect of it on a TV is exciting to iPhone developers, who for years have been wishing for a new Apple platform for apps. 

From the article "Why is Apple customers' appetite for its products insatiable?" by Charles Arthur.

Previously In The News

Shoppers Prefer Retailers’ Payment Apps To Apple Pay, Android Pay: Report

“For merchants with a loyal customer base, mobile payment functionality is a helpful addition to a merchant-specific mobile wallet that allows customers to earn loyalty rewards, save gift cards, and r...

Here's The Top Ten Most Popular Streaming Services This Year

"Importantly, all of these services have increased their subscriber base over the past year. The top five OTT services have stayed consistent, primarily through maintaining or growing the massive user...

More Bad News for Traditional Pay TV

Just when you thought things could not get worse for pay TV… This week Parks Associates published a new survey that showed the number of dissatisfied cable TV subscribers has doubled in just a few...

How can service providers shift into the center of the smart home experience?

According to research from Parks Associates, the majority of American consumers (60%) buys or leases their residential gateway from their internet service provider (ISP). However, existing gateways ar...