Net-Connected Gadgets Outnumber People in the U.S.
ThinkstockAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 315 million people living in the U.S. These folks own 425 million PCs, smartphones, video game consoles, tablets, HDTVs, disc players, and streaming media devices connected to the Internet. That’s about 1.35…
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 315 million people living in the U.S. These folks own 425 million PCs, smartphones, video game consoles, tablets, HDTVs, disc players, and streaming media devices connected to the Internet. That’s about 1.35 connected devices for every man, woman, and child in the country.
And that ratio will continue to favor the devices according to research firm The NPD Group. The driving force will be screen-sharing — displaying content from the small-screens of smartphones and tablets to large-screen connected TVs. An NPD Group executive noted:
Through 2013, multi-screen and multi-device synergy will lead the growth in the broader connected device market, but only if services consumers desire are delivered in a simplistic manner. In this connected world, content providers and consumer technology OEMs need to determine the optimal mix of services and have them on the right devices.
Using an Internet-connected like a smartphone or tablet to “throw” content to a TV screen requires also that consumers change their mindsets about how TVs are used. NPD estimates that 15% of all HDTVs in the U.S. are connected to the Internet and that number nearly doubles, to 29%, when the firm counts other devices that throw content to the TV screen.
But screen-sharing has got to be made simpler: “OEMs and retailers need to focus less on new innovation in this space and more on simplification of the user experience and messaging if they want to drive additional, and new, behaviors on the TV.”
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
