Feb 05, 2004
Parks Associates: Consumer Electronics Brands Likely to Dominate in Emerging Media Server Market
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 2004--Over 70% of broadband households likely to purchase a media server show a strong preference for traditional consumer electronics (CE) brands over their PC counterparts, according to Parks Associates' Broadband Networked Households project. Moreover, over one-half (51%) picked Sony as their brand of choice for such a device, which would store and distribute content to networked devices within the home.
"With unit sales flattening, PC OEMs hope digital consumer electronics will be their next big opportunity," said Michael Greeson, vice president of research and strategy for Parks Associates. "Yet it is far from certain that a PC leader such as HP or Dell can cross over to consumer electronics and compete with the likes of Sony. The CE players have been selling dependable and inexpensive devices for decades, and consumers will gravitate toward category-specific brands due to positive prior experiences. This ingrained brand preference will be hard to break."
Parks Associates' most recent consumer research initiative, Broadband Networked Households, features data collected from a survey conducted in Q4 2003 of more than 3,300 broadband households. Parks Associates is also preparing to launch Consumers & Emerging Multimedia Platforms, a Q1 2004 primary research project designed to examine consumer perceptions of reliability, brand preference, feature sets, and applications unique to these media platforms.
For more information about either project, visit http://www.parksassociates.com or contact Parks Associates at sales@parksassociates.com or 972-490-1113.
Go to http://www.parksassociates.com to download the white paper Service Providers & Residential Gateway Strategy, which discusses some of the technical and market challenges companies must address when deploying such devices.
About Parks Associates: Parks Associates is a market research and consulting firm focused on all product and service segments that are "digital" or provide connectivity within the home. The company's expertise includes home networks, digital entertainment, consumer electronics, broadband and Internet services, and home systems.
Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, multiclient studies, consumer research, workshops, and custom-tailored client solutions. Parks Associates also hosts two executive seminars, both part of the Fall Focus series, and co-hosts CONNECTIONS(TM) (in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association) each year. http://www.parksassociates.com
Contacts
Parks Associates, Dallas
Elizabeth Parks, 972-490-1113
sales@parksassociates.com
