Tech Giants Will Battle for Living Rooms

US consumers will consider a broad variety of suppliers for media hub products or 'Digital Dens' as technology converges, according to Ipsos-Insight. PC companies, consumer electronics giants, telcos / ISPs and others are all expected to be players in the fast-developing market.

The latest report follows recent Ipsos findings revealing high consumer interest in Internet-friendly home entertainment products, and concludes that overall, hardware and electronics companies are most frequently cited as those who will deliver the Digital Den experience, with Microsoft in amongst them. When asked their preferred brand for the home media hub, Sony (21%) emerges as number one, followed by Dell (15%), Microsoft (13%), and HP (9%). Pipeline companies, including telcos, cable companies, and Internet companies, account for 9% of preferences between them.

According to Todd Board, Senior Vice President and head of Ipsos-Insight's Technology & Communications practice, consumers will seek known brands to help them integrate digital content with their home entertainment systems as increasing numbers migrate to broadband. But convergence means competition will be hotter than ever: 'companies that have reigned as top performers in certain product or service sectors are at risk of competition from cross-over industries, such as Apple has done in the digital music category'.

'Sony maintains a positive brand image among US consumers,' Board continues. 'With a solid product offering and the right marketing strategy, Sony has the potential to lead the emerging Digital Den marketplace, but not without competition and, at least as importantly, not without some collaboration with others who want to play in this space'.

Asked more generally which brands they associate with the technology, consumers were most likely to mention Microsoft (54%) and Sony (52%), with PC brands Dell (46%) and HP (41%) ahead of electronics companies like Panasonic (34%) and Samsung (20%).

Board says the digital den will accelerate the convergence of these industries, with consumers seeming to envisage 'a media hub-type product that follows the model of an Internet-enabled PC, where you buy the equipment from one brand and then sign up for the service with another brand'.

Interest in these hubs will also fuel upgrades to high-speed Internet connections, with consumers generally well aware of the need for speed if the 'dens' are to provide good quality sound and pictures.

'The tech landscape is littered with the failed promises of the 'next big thing about to happen' concludes Board. 'While acknowledging that, we do see a critical mass of market interest in the Digital Den model. It's helped by Apple's iMac, by overall consumer staying power post-recession, and-perhaps most importantly-by a renewed tech sector focus on what consumers want to buy, as opposed to what engineers want to make'.

The report used data from the Ipsos U.S. Online Express from June 9-14, with a sample of 1,054 people aged 18 plus.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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