MarketIntellNow’s Top 10 Predictions on WiFi-Enabled Gizmos (WEGs)

1. Myriad WEGs will be available for the holidays (late 2007)
2. Far more will become available in 2008
3. Most of these will be from big traditional brands (GE) and big “Internet brands” (Amazon)
4. While only 4% of Netizens indicated they want to read books on a WEG, advances in display technology and big marketing pushes by Amazon and Google will cause this number to grow rapidly
5. WEG-makers will have a choice to make, partner-to or buy their Widget platform to allow users to customize their devices, and users will find widget-style customization highly facile. That said, most users will “set-and-forget” their WEGs, girding them to play their highly personal music and videos, look at photos (especially NOT their own photos), and even (increasingly) read books…
6. Savvy WEG marketers will initially target clock radio-replacement; thus, a wake-up function with one’s own tune or tone (a la ringtones) will be highly salient
7. The Chumby- which as of 8/31/2007 had just shipped 50 beta units- will prove to be a big success, even thought it’s an unknown brand. Its success will attract legions of imitators
8. Some WEGs will become “muni-portable,” if and as Municipal WiFi (Muni WiFi) rolls out
9. Family WEG packs (one for each bedroom, as an example) will be common, and parental controls will become a key part of widget platforms
10. WEGs will mostly be for waking-up, playing YOUR Radio, YOUR TV and YOUR Photos*, and will get a substantial boost as IP TV catches fire. WEG vendors that have a focus on industrial design will prosper ahead of even those who seek to exploit ever lower price points, as there is a not-small, salient STYLE attribute to gadgets with which one is intimate (i.e., a personal accessory).

    * However, increasingly these will be 3rd party photos, not family photos.

Our ANWO survey on WEGs is complete, and the results with our accompanying analysis are now available for purchase [delivered electronically: a 35-page Powerpoint and an Excel Market Sizing model that allows "what if?" analysis], via our eStore.This report is also available in Japanese.

日本語): このレポートは日本語でまた利用できる

Questions? We’re marketintellnow on all the IM services.

No comments yet

Your comment

Name

E-Mail

Website