Verizon on top of a huge trend - transforming the smartphone into a remote controller

I imagine that every service provider will soon be enabling remote control capabilities on smartphones and tablet computers; it just seems that Verizon's FiOS is ahead of the curve...as usual. The company reports that its Mobile Remote application is now available on more than forty devices.

The FiOS TV Mobile Remote app can be downloaded to Apple’s iPhone and iPod devices and will soon be available for download on tablet devices. Mobile Remote - which launched in February on DROID by Motorola - is also available on every device running Android software v.2.1 or above that supports Wi-Fi.

Verizon’s suite of applications is available for download - at no additional cost - in the Verizon Wireless Media Store, the Android Market, Apple’s App Store and BlackBerry App World. After just one year in the market, both Verizon’s DVR Manager, which lets customers manage DVR settings via their smart phone, and Mobile Remote have been downloaded more than 500,000 times.

In our Broadband, Communications & Entertainment Bundles study (press release here), we find that one-third of consumers in U.S. broadband households are highly interested in such a feature. So, yes, this one is going to be a difference-maker.

Personalization and unique value of smartphones to push global sales to 310 million units in 2013

Consumer demand leads to almost 20% annual growth between 2008 and 2013--

The consumer appetite for smartphones is skyrocketing and will push annual sales worldwide from 131 million units in 2008 to over 300 million by 2013, according to international market research company Parks Associates.

The firm’s new report Mobile Services: Global Outlook finds consumers are attracted to these converged devices because they combine practical and entertainment applications into a mobile platform, which can then be expanded incrementally with new and unique add-ons and applications like Breadcrumbz from the Google Android Market.

Consumers have a personal connection to their phones. Apps like T-Mobile’s Sherpa will learn from its user’s preferences in order to make personalized, location-based recommendations on restaurants and shops. The latest iPhone release is making a strong case for mobile video, and with a little help from the Apple App Store, users can turn their phone into a lightsaber.

Smartphone users worldwide will top 1.1 billion in 2013, creating a lucrative market for mobile carriers and mobile application developers.

The success of the iPhone, Pre, and Blackberry shows the strength of consumer demand for an intelligent, multifunctional device. The appeal of the smartphone will create significant new revenue streams for carriers and developers, who should strive to create new service bundles that build off this mobile platform with converged video, voice, and data applications.

Parks Associates is launching a new consumer study Mobile Convergence: Platforms, Applications, and Services to explore smartphone users’ service and application usage patterns, handset feature and function requirements, and expectations for new mobile content and service experience.

This study will uncover hidden consumer needs and help carriers, handset manufacturers, and application developers identify and quantify business opportunities in this fast-growing market segment.

Mobile Services: Global Outlook is Parks Associates’ latest industry report on global mobile market intelligence. It provides market trends in global carrier subscriber growth and handset sales and analyzes carriers’ voice and data service strategies.


For the full press release, click here.


To subscribe to all newsroom press releases, click here.