According to a recent report from The NPD Group, besides high-definition televisions (HDTVs) and laptops, which are becoming more popular, usage of all other CE devices by kids ages 4-14 is stable or down from 2009. Televisions (both standard and high definition) remain the most widely used consumer devices among kids with 74% of kids in this age group watching TV, while computers (both desktop and laptop) are second at 70%.

“Computers are really the hub for many kids’ digital lives, simply due to the sheer variety of activities that can be accessed online,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Over the last year, there has been a notable increase in the percent of kids going online to visit social networking sites. However, the percentage of kids who use a computer to play a CD-ROM game, or to download or stream music has declined.”

Kids who are using other devices are expanding the range of activities they do on them. For example, there’s a noticeable increase in the percent of kids using cell phones for imaging and music, and portable digital music players (PDMPs) for gaming and viewing videos.

According to the report, HDTVs and laptop computers surpassed digital cameras last year in the percent of households that acquired one in the past 12 months, although cell phones remained the most acquired CE device with 30% of households with kids ages 4 to 14 purchasing in the past year.

Thanks in part to lower price points for HDTVs, when asked about their future purchase intent in the next 12 months, parents are just as likely to purchase HDTVs for their kids as they are to purchase cell phones or digital cameras, showing the increasing popularity of this CE device. In fact, 18% of parents surveyed stated they plan on purchasing an HDTV for their kid in the coming year, while only 17% plan on purchasing a cell phone or digital camera.

With the exception of desktop computers, 2010 data shows more households are downloading content to the various devices for kids compared to last year. Portable and console VG systems, cell phones, laptop computers and PDMPs all show a 2% to 3% point increase in downloading of digital content versus 2009.

Kids’ interest in portability and being able to access entertainment on the go continues to climb. According to the report, four of the top five CE devices owned by kids are all portable. Portable video game systems, PDMPs, digital cameras and cell phones all rank in the top five CE devices personally owned by kids ages 4-14. Console video game systems are the only non-portable device to rank in the top five.

New to this year’s study is the ownership of accessories for cell phones, PDMPs and portable video game systems. With 61% of cell phone owners, 66% of PDMP owners, and 88% of portable video game system owners having at least one non-essential accessory, accessories are a source of revenue in the CE market that cannot be understated.

Kids & Consumer Electronics 6.  The NPD Group. 27 Apr. 2010.  Web.  27 Apr. 2010.

A quick glance at the top-spending brands in the U.S. confirms that telecom companies allocate billions of dollars trying to attract consumer attention.  Businesses in this sector and in high-tech services also market to the BtoB sector. The good news is that over 40% of these companies plan to increase BtoB marketing efforts in 2010 while another 44% will level-budget the activity according to Gartner.

Many managers are still feeling the sting of cutbacks which took place last year. But the recession also forced these marketers to learn how to operate in a ‘new normal.’ “Marketing has to continue to look at becoming more efficient and cost-effective,” says Laura McLellan, research vice president at Gartner. As part of the new normal, high tech and telcom operators will consider the following options while they search for the right balance in marketing to end users:

• Adopting lower-cost alternatives
• Outsourcing the marketing task
• Reviewing growth targets to be reached through both traditional and new channels

In general, these companies spend about 1/3^rd of their marketing budget in-house and 2/3’s is outsourced. When it comes to marketing communications, these businesses plan to allocate their budgets as follows this year:

• Events 22%
• Advertising 16%
• Direct mail 11%

Despite the cautious outlook for 2010, operators understand that they need to increase their BtoB marketing efforts to win clients. Some operators will increase the marketing budget more than others as the following statistics show:

• Increase of between 1-15%: 30%
• Increase of between 16-30%: 13%

While this study primarily focused on large companies worldwide, the findings point to a positive trend in the BtoB sector. Companies in the high-tech arena are back and they’re beginning to advertise again.
[Source: “Gartner Says Marketing Spending by High Tech and Telecom Providers Will Increase in 2010.” Gartner.com. 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 5 May 2010]

While the B2B community has been buzzing about cloud computing lately, consumers are interested in this technology,  too. The basic idea behind cloud computing is  being able to access digital information from any location at any time. The ability to access email remotely appeals to nearly half of online U.S. consumers according to a Harris Interactive poll. But these consumers have reservations about immediate access to information such as pictures or tax information. For the most part, these reservations are linked to security.

Here are a few details. The percentages of consumers who are very interested or interested in accessing specific types of data break out as follows:

• Email: 47%
• Pictures: 42%
• Music: 38%
• Office documents: 34%
• Videos: 33%
• Financial services: 27%

Not surprisingly, the survey shows that younger consumers have a higher interest level in cloud computing services than older consumers. However, even 1/3^rd of consumers over age 65 want access to their email regardless of their location.  Interest in cloud computing would be even higher if vendors assured users of both safety and security as indicated by the percentages of online consumers agreeing to the following issues:

• I would keep files I upload on my own computer as a backup: 84%
• I worry about the security of cloud computing: 81%
• I worry about lack of Internet access when needing to open files: 67%
• Being able to access files would make life easier: 63%
• The service sounds too complicated to use: 38%

As consumers continue to spend more time online, they’ll likely want to access their data via mobile devices or fixed devices at locations away from home. Marketers who promote their cloud computing services as safe, reliable and easy to use may grab the largest market share early in this transition.

[Source: Cloud Computing – Are American Ready? Harris Interactive. 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 23 Apr. 2010]

As the use of mobile phones becomes nearly ubiquitous, about 87% of U.S. consumers now own these devices, marketers can begin targeting users by type to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns.  Experian Simmons has divided U.S. mobile phone users into several types based on how they most frequently use these devices.

Here’s a summary of the Experian Simmons categories:

• Mobirati: Younger users who communicate through texting
• Social connectors: Users rely on the device to stay in constant touch with friends
• Pragmatic adopters: Users who bought their first phone as adults
• Mobile professionals: Technologically adept users who rely heavily on smart phone functionality
• Basic planners: Users like the utilitarian rather than social functionality of mobile devices

John Fetto, senior marketing manager for Experian Simmons, expects to see growth in the mobirati and social connector type users during the next several years.  And as these groups command more of the marketplace, they will also spend more time on the phone. This trend means the phone will compete with other media and disrupt the influence of TV and radio. Fetto also expects to see the pragmatic adopter group change behavior. This  group may be primarily comprised of Baby Boomers who do little currently except make calls with their phones. But now, he believes, they’ll want to explore other uses for the devices and as they do so, they’ll be upgrading phones and perhaps switching providers.

All of this turmoil in the market means that advertisers who find a way to reach consumers early through their devices may experience a huge return on their investment.

[Source: Vasquez, Diego. Dialing up: Cell phones in the mobile age. Research. Media Life Magazine. 30 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2010]