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Should Industry Be Concerned with Decline in TV Households?

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February 12, 2014

According to a new report from Forrester Research, the percentage of U.S. households with cable or satellite television is projected to dip from the current 82 percent to 79 percent by 2018. However, Forrester’s Jim Nail suggests that the television industry should not worry about cord-cutters, since those who opt to unsubscribe from cable services do not watch much TV anyway, and are not turning to online options but simply avoiding the cost. Business Insider counters that a decline is difficult to view as a win. Continue reading Should Industry Be Concerned with Decline in TV Households?

Apple Could Make Shopping Easier with Mobile Payments Service

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January 28, 2014

Apple is reportedly looking into ways to expand into a mobile-payments service that would go beyond the iTunes store. Down the line, it might compete directly with the likes of Google, eBay’s PayPal and Square, which have become ubiquitous in mobile payment processing for physical goods and services. For Apple, that would likely mean consumers would be able to use their iPhones or iPads to make in-store and online purchases with greater ease. Continue reading Apple Could Make Shopping Easier with Mobile Payments Service

Internet of Things: Google to Buy Nest Labs for $3.2 Billion

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January 17, 2014

Google is making a run for the connected home. On Monday, the company announced it is acquiring Nest Labs, a maker of smart smoke alarms and thermostats, for $3.2 billion. This is Google’s second largest acquisition to date, behind the 2012 purchase of phone maker Motorola Mobility. Nest Labs is considered a poster child for the Internet of Things movement, a key focus of last week’s CES in Las Vegas, where companies showcased sensor, communication, and computing tech to make everyday life easier.  Continue reading Internet of Things: Google to Buy Nest Labs for $3.2 Billion

Tech Firms Step Up Efforts on Digital Counter Surveillance

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December 10, 2013

The “Snowden Effect” has caused a ripple among major tech companies trying to assure consumers that their personal information is secure and protected in data centers. Following the surveillance revelations by Edward Snowden, the question on everyone’s mind is whether their private and confidential data has been secured from prying eyes online. A number of companies, concerned by the National Security Agency’s actions, are working to protect their customers’ data.

Continue reading Tech Firms Step Up Efforts on Digital Counter Surveillance

Twitter Hires Commerce Chief, Plans to Offer Shopping Tools

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August 28, 2013

As part of its move into the online shopping space currently dominated by Amazon and eBay, Twitter has hired Nathan Hubbard as the company’s first head of commerce. Hubbard was president of Live Nation Entertainment’s Ticketmaster until earlier this month. Twitter plans to initially enter e-commerce by offering retailers tools for selling goods and services inside tweets. Forrester projects e-commerce will be a $370 billion market in the U.S. by 2017. Continue reading Twitter Hires Commerce Chief, Plans to Offer Shopping Tools

Machinima Looks to Turn Game Re-Streams into Big Business

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June 28, 2013

Video game “re-stream” is a popular video genre on YouTube where gamers post recorded video of their gameplay, sometimes accompanied by voice-over commentary. One of the most popular channels is Machinima, which is looking to transform itself from a YouTube channel with billions of monthly views to a real media company. It may be the future of television, so long as Machinima, and others like it, can overcome copyright issues and create a sustainable model. Continue reading Machinima Looks to Turn Game Re-Streams into Big Business

In the Wake of Heavy Losses, Future of Nook is Uncertain

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June 27, 2013

Barnes & Noble announced this week that it will stop producing its own color tablet e-reader, the Nook, in favor of third party, co-branded devices. The company’s decision may reflect a trend in the decline of dedicated e-readers competing with the growing popularity of tablet devices. Consumers are looking to tablets, which have more features and apps available, including e-reader capability, compared to standalone e-readers. Continue reading In the Wake of Heavy Losses, Future of Nook is Uncertain

Developers Face Initial Restrictions for Google Glass Apps

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April 18, 2013

Google is following Apple’s example as it is looking to develop more apps for Google Glass. The company released guidelines for developers on Monday, but with limitations, as the company wants more control over what apps are created for the cloud-based “Glassware.” With these limitations, developers cannot sells ads or use third parties to collect and sell data, in addition to other restrictions. Continue reading Developers Face Initial Restrictions for Google Glass Apps

Commerce: Will 2013 Finally Be the Year of Mobile Payments?

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February 14, 2013

Will this actually be the year during which mobile payments take off? “Both Gartner and Forrester have made strong predictions of mobile growth, with Forrester recently saying that the U.S. mobile payments market will hit $90 billion by 2017, a 48 percent compound annual growth rate from the $12.8 billion spent in 2012,” reports ReadWrite. The article highlights four indicators that suggest this might really happen. Continue reading Commerce: Will 2013 Finally Be the Year of Mobile Payments?

Shopping Trend: Retailers Find that Consumers Prefer Apps to Websites

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November 22, 2011
  • New iPad apps are rolling out this holiday season to entice the eight percent of online shoppers that own tablets.
  • That percentage may seem small, but Forrester Research found that 60 percent of tablet owners use their devices to shop and many prefer them to smartphones or computers for shopping. For clothing company Anthropologie, iPad shopping accounted for six percent of sales this year and is expected to rise to 20 percent with the introduction of their new app.
  • These new apps aim to provide a more interactive experience and capture some of the in-store essence by revamping their electronic catalogs and adding new features to their shopping pages.
  • Revel Touch has built apps for multiple companies including functions like a “virtual dressing room,” that allows users to create outfits and the ability to share choices on social networks. Apps allow tablet shoppers to zoom in, see videos and find the sizes they want with ease.
  • “You can bring the objects to life on an iPad and you can’t do that on paper — and you don’t have to chop down a tree,” the CEO of Catalog Spree told The New York Times. The company also reported that, on weekends, its users spend almost eight times as long on the retailers’ app as they do on the retailers’ Web sites.

Forty-One Percent of Enterprises Block Access for Employee-Owned Macs

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October 28, 2011
  • Ars Technica reports: “Forty-one percent of enterprises do not allow employee-owned Macs access to any company resources, even Web-based e-mail, according to the results of a new Forrester survey of IT executives at North American and European companies.”
  • Some companies will offer a stipend to employees to buy Macs if they prefer, but the enterprise seems to stay away because of higher prices and ingrained IT Microsoft traditions.
  • Forrester suggests that productivity is linked with the freedom to choose personal computers. Many employees prefer the “uncluttered Macs — especially those with solid-state drives, which are more responsive and boot in seconds,” according to Forrester analyst David Johnson.
  • Problems arise with the need for Mac-specific management software and file sharing, but Johnson points out tech departments that stand in the way “will eventually get run over.”

Will Amazon Be a Contender in the Tablet War? Forrester Says Yes

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August 30, 2011
  • Amazon’s tablet PC is widely expected to be ready for release this fall and, according to Forrester Research, will “completely disrupt the status quo.”
  • Forrester analysts predict the tablet will provide competition for Apple’s iPad and could sell as many as 5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011.
  • The report suggests Amazon’s success will depend on pricing the device below $300 (paidContent points out that Amazon has yet to officially confirm it will even release a tablet).
  • Forrester believes an Amazon tablet will prove popular based on the company’s “willingness to sell hardware at a loss combined with the strength of its brand, content, cloud infrastructure, and commerce assets.”
  • If successful, an Amazon tablet could significantly boost the competitive profile of Google’s Android operating system.

E-Commerce: Purchasing via Tablets on the Rise

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July 26, 2011
  • Consumers are increasingly using iPads and other tablet devices for mobile purchases, according to a new report by Forrester Research released this week.
  • Tablets might even one day outpace smartphones and PCs in terms of e-commerce volume.
  • The devices already account for 20 percent of mobile sales, even though just 9 percent of online shoppers have tablets. Additionally, 60 percent of tablet owners say they have used the devices to shop.
  • Tablets typically offer richer catalog presentations than those available via smartphones, and applications often produce faster loading times than retailers’ websites.
  • “Everyone thinks that mobile phones and mobile commerce are the next big things, and I think what this data shows is it’s probably actually tablets,” explains Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester analyst. “We have always capped e-commerce at 10 to 15 percent of total retail sales, but this potentially has the capability of really expanding e-commerce much beyond that.”

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