Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Tech firms cook up ways to expand home products into kitchens

Household brands like Whirlpool, Samsung and Bosch are racing against tech behemoths like Google and Amazon to dominate the kitchen with internet-connected appliances and cooking gadgets that include refrigerators embedded with touch screens, smart dishwashers and connected countertop screens with artificially intelligent assistants that react to spoken commands.

Yet the “smart kitchen” remains a tough sell. With the kitchen often a hub for families and friends, habits there can be hard to change. And many people see the kitchen and mealtimes as a haven from their otherwise always-connected lifestyle. Only 5 percent of U.S. households own smart appliances today, up from 3 percent in 2014, according to the research firm Parks Associates.

From the article "Tech firms cook up ways to expand home products into kitchens" by Brian X. Chen.

Previously In The News

Ford and AT&T Hook Up For Free Connected Car Service

Consumers are intrigued but have expressed worries about security and privacy in connected cars and regulators are already on the case. Over half of those surveyed by Parks Associates last year said t...

The Time To Cut The Cord And Switch To Streaming TV Is Now

ESPN will also be coming to Sony’s PlayStation Vue service, available in select markets. Sony’s streaming offering looks more like a traditional cable bundle in that its basic package runs $49.99 and...

HBO Is Replacing Its Cable TV Option In Spain With A New Streaming Service

The initiative is an ambitious play, but it makes sense. Spain has lower cable subscriber rates than the US and a large amount of online piracy. So HBO is sacrificing its licensing revenue to appeal t...

FCC Plan Would Give Consumer Control Of Set-top Box

And cable industry analyst Brett Sappington, of Parks Associates in Dallas, said that companies like Tivo already offer third-party cable set-top boxes, but few consumers purchase them. “Many don’t...