Now that CES is a week behind us and I’ve had some time to put my thoughts together and recover from the dreaded CES flu, I’ll be writing a few blog posts on three big CE products/trends that garnered considerable attention during the show:
- Connected Cars
- eReaders
- 3D-TVs
I’ll start with a short post on connected cars, as this is really the first year where they received standout coverage: Over 380 in-vehicle technology exhibitors graced CES’ floors this year, Ford CEO Alan Mulally delivered a keynote, and a CEA press release issued before the show claimed that sales of in-vehicle technology topped $9.3 billion in 2009. Yes, you heard correctly, $9.3 billion.
A number of players will profit when more technology finds its way into our cars. Some statistics presented during the show highlight just how much network operators, automotive companies and legislators stand to win. Take a look:
- Network Operators: Demand for voice and data carriage in connected cars will open up a new market for network operators. On average, over 26 million hands-free calling minutes are purchased each month by OnStar subscribers. Alcatel-Lucent’s ngConnect Program prototype also demonstrated what LTE data plans will do for in-car streaming media.
- Automotive Companies: In-vehicle technologies are driving automobile purchases more than many analysts had anticipated. 32% of Ford buyers indicated that Sync was critical or important in their purchase decision when buying a car. What’s more, 70% of customers who participated in Sync demos across the country indicated that they are more likely to buy a Ford vehicle.
- Legislators: Legislators concerned with driver safety will be pleased with some statistics from Nuance, a speech recognition solution provider. Analysis of driver eye movements shows us that drivers keep their eyes on the road 200 to 300 percent more when using speech rather than manual input for tasks like music selection.
Given the diverse set of players in this emerging market, Yankee Group is including a number of questions on connected cars in its updated Consumer Survey. As data begins to come in, expect to see a publication on the subject in the near future.
SOURCE