Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Microsoft Entices Holiday Shoppers With 250 Vista-Ready Product,

TechWeb"There's no precedent in my mind," Harry Wang, research analyst for Parks Associates said.

The closest comparison would be the TV industry, Harry Wang said. Manufacturers selling analog sets today are telling consumers that government coupons will be available in 2008 to help pay for converters that will make it possible for the TVs to receive digital signals. Starting Feb. 17, 2009, TV networks will be required to broadcast only digital programming.

"The PC purchase is more dependent on how badly they need to upgrade their existing one," Harry Wang said.

Other experts are equally skeptical whether there's much Microsoft can do now to drive Vista sales later. Gartner, for example, said offering Vista coupons is unlikely to boost sales because of the cost of upgrading an XP PC. Besides the additional $49 and $79 consumers would reportedly pay for Vista Home Basic and Home Premium, respectively, there's also the cost of having a retailer or reseller install the new OS.

Wang agrees. "Price will be an important factor."

From the article "Microsoft Entices Holiday Shoppers With 250 Vista-Ready Product," by Antone Gonsalves.

Previously In The News

Come Together

Here's the concept: Many people today have gobs of digital photos, digital music, even digital movies stored on their home computers. That's nice, but users are tied to computers to get at their goo...

Internet phone connections grow more popular

This was it. Cheryl Moseng looked at her telephone bill and felt enough was enough. She decided the time had come to sever the cord with her service provider …She chucked the bill and service provid...

Dish, Whirlpool Partner With Amazon Devices

Today, 40% of smartphone owners already use digital assistants, according to a recent survey conducted by Parks Associates. Millennials are most likely to partake (46%), but -- as the technology co...

Honeywell and Lowe's to keynote Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer

Parks Associates today announced Jeremy Eaton, VP & GM, Honeywell Smart Grid Solutions, Honeywell, and Kevin Meagher, VP, GM, Smart Home, Lowe's Companies, Inc., will deliver keynotes at the upcomi...