Connected Homes
Viewpoints
2023
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February:
2022
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December/January:
2022: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2023 -
November:
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October:
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September:
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February:
2021
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December/January:
2021: The Year in Review
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November:
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October:
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September:
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August:
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July:
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February:
Strong PC Sales
Big Picture: Personal Computers, Productivity, and Home Offices
Archived Viewpoints
2020
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December/January:
2020: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2021 -
November:
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October:
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September:
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August:
PS5 and Xbox Series X
Big Picture: Video Games and the Connected Home -
July:
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June:
The Pandemic Crisis: Scenarios for the Future of Digital Connectivity and Lifestyles
Scenarios Presentation: The Pandemic Crisis: Scenarios for the Future of Technology Development
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May:
The Pandemic Crisis: Key Forces That Will Shape the Future of Digital Connectivity and Lifestyles
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April:
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March:
Smart-Speaker Use Cases
8K Televisions Are Becoming a Reality -
February:
2019
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December/January:
2019: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2020 -
November:
RoomMe: Smartphones Enable Greater Personalization
Watch Parties -
October:
Facebook's Second Generation of Smart Displays
Smart Closets -
September:
Ambient Intelligence
All-In-One Connected-Home Subscription Packages -
August:
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July:
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June:
Connected Homes for Improved Health
Partnerships between Device Manufacturers and Construction Companies -
May:
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April:
Wi-Fi 6 Enables More Connected Devices
Voice Assistants and Natural Language -
March:
Connected Homes without the Cloud
The Rollable TV versus The Wall TV -
February:
2018
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December/January:
2018: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2019 -
November:
Streaming-Video Perceptions and Realities
Smart Displays and the Future of Virtual Assistants -
October:
Grid- and Cloud-Connected Batteries in Homes
Lighthouses for Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting -
September:
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August:
Solutions for Improved Indoor Cellular Coverage
Home-Robots Update -
July:
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June:
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May:
Network-Security Appliances
Nintendo's Home-Gaming Evolution -
April:
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March:
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February:
Smart Speakers for China
Third-Party Hardware for Virtual Assistants
2017
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December/January:
2017: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2018 -
November:
Distributed-Computing Developments
Intelligent Video Surveillance -
October:
Toward Improved Rural Broadband Services
Digital-Rights Management -
September:
Voice-Controlled Multiroom Audio
Home Security Meets Cybersecurity -
August:
Bluetooth Mesh Networking: Standardized
OK, Assistant, Show Me -
July:
Peer-to-Peer Electricity Sales: Households as Power Brokers
Automated Package Delivery -
June:
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May:
The TV-Set-Sales Slump
Prospects for a Megamerger: AT&T and Time Warner -
April:
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March:
Next-Generation TV Broadcasting
Smarter Homes, Less Security -
February:
2016
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December/January:
2016: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2017 -
November:
Update on Wireless Broadband Services
Considerations for Connected Multidwelling Units -
October:
Good Broadband Service without Fiber
Midgeneration Overhaul for Gaming Consoles -
September:
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August:
The Technology Road Map for Wireless LANs
Connected Energy-Intensive Appliances -
July:
Delivery Channels for UHD Video
Needs for Increased Upload Bandwidth -
June:
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May:
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April:
New Approaches to Electricity-Demand Response
Content-Delivery Networks -
March:
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February:
2015
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December/January:
2015: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2016 -
November:
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October:
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February:
2014
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December/January:
2014: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2015 -
November:
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October:
If This Then That and the Smart Home
The Sharing Economy as Driver of Smart Home Technology -
September:
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February:
2013
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December/January:
2013: The Year in Review
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November:
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2012
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December/January:
2012: The Year in Review
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November:
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2011
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December/January:
2011: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2012 -
November:
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2010
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December/January:
2010: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2011 -
November:
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2009
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December/January:
2009: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2010 -
November:
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February:
2008
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December/January:
2008: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2009 -
November:
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October:
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September:
Indoor Base Stations
Recent Developments: Legality of Network DVRs -
August:
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February:
2007
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December/January:
2007: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2008 -
November:
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October:
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July:
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June:
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May:
Vudu's Broadband P2P Network for Legal IPTV Movie Distribution
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April:
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February:
2006
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December/January:
2006: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2007 -
November:
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October:
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September:
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August:
Energy and Environmental Concerns: Potential Market Drivers for Connected Homes
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July:
About Connected Homes
Today's broadband-connected home networks help residential users enjoy entertainment, perform work, secure their belongings, automate appliances, maintain health and fitness, conduct transactions, and connect people to one another. Hundreds of millions of households have already adopted Wi-Fi, pay TV, online games, streaming services, and diverse solutions for home security and automation. Recently, millions have adopted smart speakers and other speech-controlled, cloud-connected appliances. But home-network technology is at a far more advanced state of development for some users—such as those who route video to multiple TV sets from home servers, use their smartphones from afar to control door locks and check images from home-security cameras, and use wall-mounted touch screens to control lights and indoor climate. Many benefits become possible as a result of novel interconnections among broadband services, storage devices, displays, sensors, software, and other technology elements.
Although "smart-home" technology progressed slowly for decades, mass markets for home networking finally emerged in recent years. Wireless technology and standards help users address some of the key obstacles that they formerly faced—especially the difficulty of installing home networks and handling incompatibilities among multiple vendors. Advanced applications still require either professional installation or system integration by a household member who has suitable expertise and patience. But even the most advanced users and installers face decisions and challenges that reflect unresolved industry issues. For example, pent-up demand exists for house-wide access to entertainment, worries about safety are driving changes in home-security systems, and desires for conservation stimulate use of connected energy-management applications. But installation challenges arise from incompatible technologies, competition among brands, and restrictions arising from industries' digital-rights-management practices. As a result, opportunities remain for players to simplify the installation of connected-home technologies. To accomplish this goal, players need to navigate a complex business environment that changes as technology and market demand coevolve.
Development of home-networking markets will affect household lifestyles, the business environment for industries that sell retail products and services, and suppliers to those industries. Future users will enjoy new content-delivery channels, an array of new telecommunications services, and a sense of command and control over household security and comfort. Manufacturers, service providers, retailers, and other organizations are creating complex multiparty business models, investing in large R&D programs, and devoting a good deal of marketing effort to home-network business development. Winning organizations maintain high awareness about what basic and applied technologies are emerging, players' technology strategies, specific benefits that will become possible as technology progress translates into value, what technologies households are prepared to accept, and how they make technology decisions.