This information may seem mundane compared with smartphone geolocation software that follows you around or the trove of personal data Facebook Inc. vacuums up based on your activity. But even gadgets as simple as light bulbs could enable tech companies to fill in blanks about their customers and use the data for marketing purposes. Having already amassed a digital record of activity in public spaces, critics say, tech companies are now bent on establishing a beachhead in the home.
“You can learn the behaviors of a household based on their patterns,” says Brad Russell, who tracks smart home products for researcher Parks Associates Inc. “One of the most foundational things is occupancy. There’s a lot they could do with that.”
From the article "Your Smart Light Can Tell Amazon and Google When You Go to Bed" by Matt Day.
In a recent survey, 25 percent of broadband households indicated they were familiar with some type of VR technology, but just 8 percent actually owned a headset, Parks Associates researchers found....
The standard is used in about 580 million homes worldwide if you include cordless phones. About 50 million units are in Europe, including gateways and VoIP boxes, according to Brad Russell, a market r...
Concerns about data security also have been shown to increase with ownership of more connected devices. Currently, U.S. broadband households own an average of 10.4 connected devices -- including enter...
The bottom line is that operators need to begin now, knowing that changes will take years to accomplish. Companies must begin with specific goals and objectives in mind, with appropriate expectations...
