Multimedia
Watch, listen and learn from ABI Research Analyst multimedia presentations. Register (it's free) and download podcasts, audio webcasts, and video insights for in depth analysis, charts, data, and expert views on the wireless, telematics and navigation, and consumer electronics industries.

Video Insights
Rooms With A View: the Future of the Digital Home
Michael Wolf | Research Director, Digital Home

Consumers' increasing desire to enjoy video and audio entertainment at many locations in their homes is driving the development of products and networks to store, distribute and present this content. In this Video Insight, research director Michael Wolf asks, "What will the connected living room of the future look like?" He explores the alternative approaches being promoted by leading consumer electronics manufacturers, assesses why Apple and Microsoft have so far had only limited success in this market, and discusses what ABI Research sees as the most likely path of future development for the digital home.

Wireless Outlook: a Decade of Disruptive Change Ahead
Stuart Carlaw | Vice President and Research Director, Mobile Wireless

The mobile wireless industry is on the brink of the most significant decade of change since the invention of the mobile phone. In this Video Insight, ABI Research vice president and research director Stuart Carlaw describes the whirlwind of converging influences already starting to affect all links in the wireless value chain. He explains how, driven by the need to replace decaying voice service revenues, fixed-mobile convergence, WiMAX and LTE will all disrupt traditional models. Carlaw foresees a fundamental clash of cultures between "traditional" wireless industry values and a new PC-centric ethos, and warns of the consequences for companies that fail to adapt.

The Citizen, the Consumer, and Me: RFID in the Public Eye
Michael Liard | Research Director, RFID & Contactless

Privacy and security: two words that resonate deeply with the public in this age of surveillance, ID checks, industrial espionage and nosy governments. Movies and television magnify popular fears. In this Video Insight, research director Mike Liard takes a TV drama and a casual conversation with a fearful citizen as starting points for a discussion of RFID's public image. Asking "How do we send factual, coherent messages to the public?" he argues that the RFID industry needs to emerge from its "bubble" to be more proactive in reassuring citizens that RFID's potential to harm and control them is minimal.

Restructuring China's Telecoms Market
Jake Saunders | Vice President of ABI Research Asia-Pacific

The Chinese Communist Party appears to have agreed on a significant restructuring of China's telecommunications operator landscape, involving a consolidation among the nation's four largest operators (China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, and China Netcom). China Unicom has sold its CDMA network to China Telecom, while China Netcom and China Unicom are merging. The merged China Unicom/China Netcom unit will have China Unicom's GSM assets.

In this video Insight -- first released prior to these sales and mergers -- Asia-Pacific vice president Jake Saunders accurately forecasts these important market developments, explaining the implications of this restructuring and what it means for 3G licensing in China. He touches on China's homegrown 3G standard, on the government's attitude to WiMAX, and on the opportunities this "watershed year" may present for domestic and foreign players in the Chinese telecommunications market.

ABI Webcasts
Trends in Digital Media and the Digital Home
Michael Wolf | Research Director, Digital Home

Digital media are transforming our experience of entertainment more profoundly than at any time since the introduction of radio and television themselves. In this audio Webcast, research director Michael Wolf assesses the implications for distribution and presentation of digital media, to and through the digitally-equipped home. He discusses the increasing fluidity of content, the relationship of fixed to mobile devices, and users' increasing levels of interactivity with entertainment systems and content providers. Wolf explores whole-home transport and distribution options, and the new opportunities these create for vendors. His presentation covers many more topics including the confrontation between over-the-top and pay television services, the role of content owners, regional broadband video developments, new business models, media storage, fixed-mobile convergence, network connectivity and software, and concludes with a look at Internet video.

Consumer Navigation and Location-Based Services
Dominique Bonte | Research Director, Telematics and Navigation

Personal navigation has been one of the great consumer technology success stories of the past five years. In this Webcast, principal analyst Dominique Bonte provides an illustrated overview of this market's performance in 2007 and the course it is taking in 2008, along with forecasts of device and system shipments through 2012. He discusses the choice between personal navigation devices (PNDs) and navigation-enabled cellular handsets, as well as the diverging design philosophies favoring converged vs. dedicated devices. Addressing the related topic of Location Based Services, Bonte examines the four major service subdivisions: personal navigation; location/proximity (including local search, community and social networking, games and advertising); emergency response; and services useful to the enterprise, including forecasts for subscribers and revenue. He concludes with a discussion of evolving business models, and a look at the strategies of specific vendors.

Evolution of the Mobile Devices Market
Stuart Carlaw | Vice President and Research Director, Mobile Wireless

Mobile devices are the biggest-selling consumer electronics products in the world, with more than one billion shipping every year. In this Webcast vice president and research director Stuart Carlaw discusses the evolution of this important industry. He outlines the major forces shaping both developed and developing markets. Focusing on the developed segment, he then delves into the trends that determine the market’s shape and direction, including a feature-set explosion, the effort to drive "smart" operating systems into the mid-tier, and micro-segmentation in handsets’ primary design goals. Rapid technology evolution is also important, and Carlaw examines the impact of mobile broadband and of advanced user interfaces. He concludes by highlighting the future importance of Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and the trend for vendors to diversify their businesses.

ABI Podcasts
LBS Infrastructure Market Predicted to Grow to $2.2 Billion by 2013
Dominique Bonte | Research Director, Telematics and Navigation

In this interview, Editor-in-chief Joe Francica spoke with Dominique Bonte, Principal Analyst, Telematics & Navigation for ABI Research in London, England. ABI Research released a report (July 2008) stating that Location Based Platforms and Infrastructure Licensing Revenues would reach $2.2 billion by 2013, sizable growth from that of today which ABI estimates at only $111 Million. Francica spoke to Mr. Bonte to get more information on the LBS infrastructure market specifically.