We can now watch HBOGO on three TVs in our home. Last night we saw they started promoting its availability on Airplay. As an early adopter, my first thought was, I want an Apple TV too. But there is no need as all three TVs we own provide HBOGO, and each through a different type of device. Apple TV does, however, offer screen mirroring which none of the other connected devices in our homeprovide, and that is bound to be useful – right? At least this is often the thinking and behavior of early adopter’s which is quite different than that of the general consumer. It’s these “events” such as the availability of a prominent service like HBOGO that often drive consumers to new technology. Asdevices such as Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, and others offer increased utility and more so, easier ways to access the content you want to watch, more mass market consumers get engaged.
Screen sharing, mirroring, throwing, call it what you will, is one of those innovation areas where the jury is still out. Many ask; will it be a reality, while others ask why should I care? While it’s not proven a mainstay yet, when you look at some of the numbers from our new report on The Inception of Screen Sharing we begin to see that consumers do know about these technologies. And awareness development is the first critical step towards consumer adoption.
In Q4 2012 we asked over 4,000 U.S. consumers about a variety of screen sharing technologies such as Samsung Allshare, and Microsoft SmartGlass. Aggregated awareness of these technologies is already at 26 percent and AirPlay ranks #1. When you ask consumers that already have a TV connected to the Internet in their home this awareness figure jumps to 39 percent. Given the that these technologies are still so new, (Samsung recently started promoting NFC capabilities and SmartGlass launched late in2012) these awareness numbers indicate consumers are quickly starting to recognize the innovation. The key to further adoption is through prominent new event orientated app launches. Each such as HBOGO on AirPlay or the new YouTube app synchronization through Discovery And Launch (DIAL), will further awareness and usage.
Next week on Wednesday the 20th, we’re hosting a webinar focused on the nearly 1/2 billion connected devices installed today. We welcome you to join us to hear our perspective on what consumers are doing with them.