Unique opportunities for companies in the digital living space





Parks Associates identifies "Digital Home" Categories, qualifying opportunities for services, applications, and solutions in and out of the home

Dallas, TX -/August 24, 2006 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- Leading market research firm Parks Associates has identified six key subcategories for the Digital Home, spanning the stages of service provision from data networking to home management and each representing unique opportunities for companies in the digital living space.

Parks Associates analyzes these subcategories and their potential for driving market growth in its new white paper "Trends in Consumer Technology: Defining and Sizing the Market." The subcategories are the following:

-Broadband + Home Computer
-Broadband + Data Network
-Broadband + Home Computer + Media Adapter
-Network-capable Consumer Electronics Platforms
-Converged Communications Services
-Home Management Services

Broadband + Data Network has been one of the biggest success stories thus far. The number of U.S. households with a data network has increased from 2.5 million in 1998 to more than 20 million today. Worldwide, the number of households with a data network will jump from 80 million in 2006 to close to 145 million by 2010, according to data available through Parks Associates' Fast Facts (http://www.parksassociates.com/fastfacts) program.

"Data networking offers practical solutions to today's technological problems, which is the reason for its current success," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst for Parks Associates. "In the other, more advanced subcategories, we are seeing vendors competing aggressively to invent or capture new product categories, with the additional challenge that they must often compete internationally. We expect to see a fair amount of debate at CONNECTIONS(TM) Europe regarding the current status and future opportunities for the Digital Home."

The first annual CONNECTIONS(TM) Europe: Strategies for Digital Living Markets will be held November 14-16, 2006, at the Adlon Kempinski in Berlin, Germany. The event will host strategic and marketing executives from global companies in the entertainment, telecommunications, controls, energy, and computing industries. Visit www.connectionseurope.com for more information.

To view the list of data available through Parks Associates' Fast Facts, visit the Parks Associates' Website http://www.parksassociates.com/ .

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates is a market research and consulting firm focused on all product and service segments that are "digital" or provide connectivity within the home. The company's expertise includes home networks, digital entertainment, consumer electronics, broadband and Internet services, and home systems.

Parks Associates hosts several fall events and co-hosts CONNECTIONS(TM) and CONNECTIONS(TM) Europe (in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association) each year. In addition, Parks Associates produces a publication, Industry Insights, two times per year in conjunction with the CONNECTIONS Conference series.

http://www.connectionsconference.com/ http://www.connectionseurope.com/ http://www.connectionsindustryinsights.com/