The rise of IP-enabled consumer electronics products is fueling increasing demand for browsers and web-based user interfaces in these devices. ABI Research expects the number of web browsers embedded in consumer electronics devices such as digital TVs, game consoles, and set top boxes to grow from 60 million shipped in 2008 to 214 million by 2013.
“Most forward-thinking consumer electronics vendors today are integrating IP ports in their mainline consumer electronics devices,” says research director Michael Wolf. “The push to bring web surfing, over-the-top video content, social networking and other web 2.0 applications to consumer electronics is creating a need to integrate browsing engines and dynamic user interfaces as well as other platforms for content rendering.”
The integration of web browsers into digital TVs is already common in Japan and is becoming increasingly more common in North America, with vendors such as Sony integrating browsers as a way to help deliver web services. Further, Yahoo’s recent announcements about porting its widget platform to the living room indicate it will take advantage of the CE-2014 HTML standard, and many of the initial implementations of this standard will use a variation of Webkit, the same browser core used by Apple and Google.
“One of the main facets of multi-screen offerings will be web-based user interfaces and rich web content across all three screens,” says Wolf. “Beyond the PC and mobile environment is the Internet-connected TV screen, and in the living room we see the browser core โ either explicitly or as part of a rich Internet application runtime such as Adobe’s AIR โ as one of the important elements in this vision of the future.”
ABI Research’s recent study “Web-Based Living Room User Interface Overview” (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/market_research/Web-Based_Living_ Room_User_Interface_Overview) examines the different standards involved, and explores vendors’ efforts to integrate web-based technologies into various user interfaces, as well as tracking the increasing adoption of Web browsers for consumer living room Web surfing.
It forms part of the firm’s Home Networking Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/Home_Networking_Research_ Service), which also includes other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market Data, an Online Database, ABI Insights, and analyst inquiry support.
ABI Research is a leading market research firm focused on the impact of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets. Utilizing a unique blend of market intelligence, primary research, and expert assessment from its worldwide team of industry analysts, ABI Research assists hundreds of clients each year with their strategic growth initiatives. For information, visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.
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