Parks Associates And CONNECTIONS? Announce 2006 International CES Events





Dallas, Texas -/August 5, 2005 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- Parks Associates and CONNECTIONS(TM) announced they will host a series of special events at 2006 International CES, including a half-day workshop and six interactive sessions. These events will offer expert analysis on a range of topics from changing consumer habits to the global market for digital products and services.

2006 International CES will take place January 5-8, 2006, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Parks Associates' half-day workshop Portable Players, Bundled Services, & the Global Landscape will take place January 6, 2006, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. The event will feature Parks Associates' analysts and the company's latest industry and consumer research.

According to Parks Associates' new report Digital Entertainment: Changing Consumer Habits, the hottest products and services - based on both recent purchases and consumer desires - are portable media players, enhanced television services, and mobile phone handsets with advanced features. By the end of 2009, 16 million U.S. households will enjoy "place-shifted" television with multiroom DVR configurations, and cumulative shipments of hard-drive portable multimedia players (PMPs) will be 13 million.

"The home environment is changing dramatically as the digital equation expands into an ever-increasing network of products and services," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst for Parks Associates. "CES offers a broad glimpse of the next year in technology, and our workshop and sessions will enhance the experience through detailed discussion of the trends shaping the near and long-term future in digital living."

The CONNECTIONS(TM) sessions at CES will discuss and evaluate the evolution of the consumer music experience, portable entertainment devices, digital distribution of media, and the management of home networks. Each session will include a panel of expert speakers and a Parks Associates analyst as moderator. Session titles are the following:

" Fun on the Run: Portable Entertainment Devices
" Reaching the Unreachable Consumer: Advertising in the Digital Age
" Making Media Meaningful: TV on Consumers' Terms
" Next Steps Digital: Enabling a Whole-Home Entertainment Experience
" Making the Network Work
" Going Global: Understanding Buyer Preferences for Digital Services

CONNECTIONS(TM) is currently accepting Call for Papers submissions, for those who wish to participate in these sessions. The date, time, and speaker invitations for these sessions will be announced in September 2005.

Parks Associates' half-day workshop Portable Players, Bundled Services, & the Global Landscape will provide the latest consumer research on convergence in portable products, future service strategies, and a global perspective informed by the company's multinational project Global Digital LivingT. For each market, Parks Associates analysts will provide an in-depth explanation and understanding of the current market demands, future growth opportunities, and market drivers and inhibitors.

For more information on the workshop Portable Players, Bundled Services, & the Global Landscape, please visit http://www.parksassociates.com. For more information on the CONNECTIONST sessions at 2006 International CES, including the Call for Papers, visit http://www.connectionsconference.com.