Consumers not ready to embrace cloud-based digital locker solution for music and video

The industry is rapidly moving content solutions to the cloud, but consumer interest is not keeping pace, as less than 30% of U.S. broadband households find the digital locker an attractive alternative for music or video.

Cloud Media and the Digital Locker, a new report from Parks Associates highlights the challenges within the industry, including device and format interoperability, consumer awareness, and security and delivery issues. Market fragmentation is also a major inhibitor, and efforts including Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem's (DECE) UltraViolet initiative and Disney’s Studio All Access aim to overcome these barriers.

The benefits of cloud services are popular with consumers, indicating significant market potential. Access via mobile devices is important, and over 50% of U.S. consumers consider multiroom access to music and video content and guaranteed replacement of lost or damaged media to be equally important features of the digital locker.

Cloud Media and the Digital Locker examines how key players from content owners and distributors to platform and technology solution providers are tailoring their cloud-based solutions to include secure delivery, high quality, and ubiquitous access models.

Verizon NFL Mobile, Sprint Navigator, and Vodafone’s MusicStation among popular mobile content services

Almost 50% of U.S. mobile phone users pay for mobile Internet access, and the popularity of mobile data services will continue to grow revenues for carriers. Percentages of paying consumers are even higher for smartphone owners: 95% pay for SMS, 92% pay for Internet access, 83% pay for mobile email, 63% pay for mobile navigation, and 43% pay for mobile video.

In Mobile Data: Analysis and Forecasts, Parks Associates analysts forecast mobile data services, including messaging, Internet, apps, entertainment services, and machine-to-machine (M2M), will generate $500 billion in global revenues for mobile carriers in 2015, up from $204 billion in 2010.

Popular mobile content services include Verizon NFL Mobile, Sprint Navigator, China Mobile’s mobile newspaper service, and Vodafone’s MusicStation service. Carriers will derive most data revenues from access services, and content services, including mobile music, videos, games, ringtones, apps, and navigation, will supplement mobile access data services.

Global mobile carriers are poised to take advantage of consumers’ strong appetite for communications, information, and entertainment content on their mobile devices, but they must adapt to maximize these revenues in this hypercompetitive market.

Carriers must compete with their traditional peers as well as content owners, developers, and distributors, who can circumvent a carrier's ecosystem to offer content or services through app stores or on the mobile Internet. The old walled garden is porous due to disruptive forces such as Apple’s integrated business model. To stay relevant and dominant, carriers must focus on making their networks the most attractive option for content delivery and distribution.

Parks Associates is supporting Mobile World Congress

Parks Associates is supporting the Mobile World Congress on February 14-15 2011 in Barcelona.

The mobile ecosystem is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of transformation. As business models adapt, new verticals and players emerge. Technology evolves, perceptions shift, and lives are improved.

At the centre of this transformation is GSMA Mobile World Congress, the must-attend annual gathering of the mobile industry. Our participants - 50,000 senior mobile leaders from 200 countries - enable, accelerate and direct this transformation, leading us into the Mobile Future.

For the event website, please click here.

New White Paper, "European Mobile Market: Beyond Price-based Strategies"

Parks Associates has released a new white paper, "European Mobile Market: Beyond Price-based Strategies."

This new white paper examines challenges for mobile carriers in Europe and strategies to sustain ARPU and expand their base of postpaid users.

• Regulations, Competition, and Churn

• Evolving Beyond Price-based Strategies

• Examples of New Strategies: Vodafone, Telefonica, T-Mobile, & Orange

• The Road Ahead - Evolution of Carrier Strategies

To download this white paper, complete this online form.

Other recent white papers include Google TV- Searching for Success and Consumer Attitudes and the Benefits of Smart Grid Technologies.

Loss of Control or Good Business?

I'd be willing to bet there are two distinct schools of thought regarding Apple’s recent review of its App Store developer guidelines. One: Apple is backing down and losing control. Two: Apple’s doing what Apple does best, practicing good customer service.

Apple prides itself in taking a consumer-centric business approach. So, it’s no surprise that servicing its community of app developers would be any different from how the company protects and supports its faithful/fanatic end-user customers.* Even if that means backing off its firm idea of how the mobile app market should develop. It’s just good business.

Apple’s review of the App Store developer guidelines isn’t all that shocking. In a nutshell, the company is ensuring quality content with an eye to the bottom line. The relaxation of existing developer guidelines not only serves to satisfy developers and app consumers, but also tightens its strong hold on the mobile app market and gives a boost its newly launched mobile ad network, iAd.

What does this mean for mobile advertising? No doubt, ad revenues will continue to line the pockets of developers, Apple, and subsequently initiate a “second wave” of interest for the emerging advertising platform.

What about mobile app consumers? Is it really a good idea to push more ads in apps?

Based on our most recently published report, Monetizing Downloadable Mobile Applications, consumer appetite for free mobile apps will continue to grow as well as consumer acceptance of in-app advertising strategies. Our consumer research reveals 46% of adults 18-34 are either indifferent to in-app ads or willing to endure ads in free mobile apps. Okay, great, but that also means that 54% are resistant to ads in apps.

The question is, will consumer attitude shift especially among young mobile users who are more open to ad targeting tactics? Particularly in light of the fact that ad buyers and sellers have the ability to deliver more relevant in-app ads – ones that are innovative and more engaging (this, by the way, is one of Apple’s main drivers for launching iAd).

*Disclaimer: I’m a Mac. Unlike our research analysis, this is a blog where I am free to voice my opinion, which may be altered with bias. I, in good humor, regularly defend myself against my colleagues, who often mock my loyalty. I’m often referred to as the bear in the popular viral video, iPhone4 vs HTC Evo. And guess what? “I don’t care.”

Number of smartphone users to quadruple, exceeding 1 billion worldwide by 2014

The demand for smartphones is creating a demographic shift among users, who will exceed 1 billion worldwide by 2014, stimulating demand for more entry-level models that offer mainstream solutions such as mobile email and social networking applications, according to Parks Associates’ Smartphone: King of Convergence.

This new report includes consumer data from Parks Associates’ primary study Mobile Convergence: Platforms, Applications, and Services. This consumer survey finds only 30% of current smartphone users are the stereotypical young and tech-savvy aficionados.

The other user segments exhibit more mainstream demographic attributes and more divergent usage patterns. One such segment, dubbed “pragmatists,” consists of budget-conscious, middle-aged users who prefer mobile email service over Internet access. Another group is keen on the smartphone’s communication features, ranging from mobile Internet to social network access.

Smartphone: King of Convergence tracks smartphone sales and market shares and analyzes carrier strategies, new mobile applications and services, and mobile technology trends. Mobile Convergence: Platforms, Applications, and Services is a survey of U.S. mobile consumers about ownership and attitudes regarding mobile devices and services.

For more information, visit http://www.parksassociates.com/mobile.

Parks Associates supports Mobile Entertainment Live!

Parks Associates is supporting Mobile Entertainment Live! on March 31st at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Mobile Entertainment Live! is the nexus of three industries on a collision course to dramatically change the future of the media market—the wireless industry, the entertainment industry and the advertising industry.

Guided by Billboard’s editorial team, this one-day conference - the official mobile entertainment event of CTIA - will bring together the leading thinkers in each field to discover how all three can work together to create the content that people want to see, at the right price, and in the right way!

For more information, click here.

Parks Associates supporting Mobile Internet 2009, Austria

Parks Associates is supporting Mobile Internet 2009 from March 23-25, 2009 in NH Danube City, Vienna, Austria.

With the proliferation of flat-rate data tariffs and an explosion of mobile internet centric devices - users can now take advantage of high end devices and clear pricing alongside mobile broadband network speeds and coverage to browse the mobile internet in search of new and innovative content.

Attendees will learn the latest strategies and business models for driving flat-rate data plans which provide a large boost in APRU; how to optimise usability and therefore drive revenues from mobile search, advertising and content; and how Android will impact the mobile internet market and learn how to exploit it to boost revenues.

Key focus sessions will include mobile platforms, open source, fragmentation and standardization.

For more information about this event, click here.