IDC CEMA Telecommunications Newsletter September 2007
 
IDC CEMA (Central & Eastern Europe and Middle East & Africa)
http://www.idc-cema.com/
 
 
Content Providers Lose Out on Significant Business Due to Lack of Services for New Devices, Says IDC

COPENHAGEN, August 28, 2007 — IDC's annual survey of Nordic consumers' interest in new technologies reveals that content providers are not very good at providing the new services and functionality that technological developments allow for. Several results from the survey suggest that consumers are interested in new functionalities, but are unable to find what they are looking for. The most evident examples relate to how they watch TV and listen to music while on the move.

Two-thirds of Nordic households have either a hard disk/DVD recorder or a media center PC. Nonetheless, very few people actually make use of the functions available. For instance, only 15% automate recording of weekly shows or series, while 70% are actually interested in using this feature. This is because the current products don't work properly, either because the necessary program guides are not good enough or because the user interface isn't user friendly. It seems that the manufacturers of standard products aren't interested in supporting users, while pay-TV providers lock their users to their specific channels.

Today, 40% use their mobile phone for listening to music. Less than half as many have even tried downloading music directly to the phone, while interest in doing so is significant. Again, content and service providers seem unwilling to really offer the opportunity to their users. Most users are restricted to the music that their mobile operator provides and cannot simply access a dedicated music provider. In addition, copy protection often makes it extremely cumbersome to transfer the music from the mobile phone to the PC, so if they want to listen to the music on another device, they need to buy the music once again.

Nordic Consumer Survey 2007: Winning Technologies in the Digital Home (IDC #N520730-1P, June 2007) is part of a series of studies and presents the findings from IDC's annual consumer survey. In addition to the document, an Excel tool is provided for in-depth analysis of the results. "The convergence of IT and consumer electronics is entering a second phase," said Anders Elbak, IDC Nordic research manager and author of the study. "It seems that the PC is struggling to become the preferred entertainment center as network capabilities and other advanced features are being embedded in consumer electronics."

To purchase this document, please call Jessica Borgudd on +46 8 751 0415. For Denmark, please call Carsten Schmidt on +45 39 16 22 43. Alternatively, visit www.idc.com.

For more information about purchasing this study, please contact:
Tatiana Hinova
+420 221 423 140
thinova@idc.com








Recommend This Newsletter to a Friend or Colleague

Please unsubscribe me


If you haven't already, register at our Web site to know what's happening and to help us improve our products and services. You can register at http://www.idc-cema.com/about/index.php?action=regform

IDC CEMA
Malé náměstí 13
110 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel. +420 2 2142 3140
Fax. +420 2 2142 3150
www.idc-cema.com
www.idc.com