Forget the latest high-powered devices, consumers want content: report

You might think that flat-screen 3D TVs, iPads, and Android-powered devices are causing all the hype, but a new study shows that consumers are more interested in online content than they are in the latest high-powered gadgets.

A June 9 study conducted by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey shows that consumers are most excited about being able to rent full-length movies from the internet.

"After many years of media hype and false starts, we're finally starting to see the concept of accessing feature-length films and TV shows through the internet cross the chasm into the mainstream," said Chris Neal, vice president of Chadwick Martin Bailey's technology practice.

"Industry developments like increasingly fast and ubiquitous broadband access, Netflix's shift to online movie rentals, TV networks making more shows available on their websites, online video services like Hulu, growth in iTunes video downloads and massive peer-to-peer video sharing through social networks are all helping to break down the mental divide between a TV screen and the internet."

Twenty-nine percent of those surveyed listed "Movie rentals via internet" as the hyped technology they were most interested in. Connecting to the internet via TV was also high on the list with 24 percent of people saying it was the technology they were most excited about.

The possibility of using an iPhone on a mobile carrier other than ATT was second with 26 percent. Twenty-three percent of respondents were excited about 4G wireless technology, and 22 percent of people were excited about unified fixed mobile voice plans.

Interestingly enough technology that has been much-hyped within the technology word was at the bottom of the list. Only 20 percent of people surveyed were excited about 3D TV, 16 percent about the iPad and 15 percent were excited about Android-based cell phones.

A second study released by eMarketer on June 9 suggests that the rate of online video viewing will continue to increase, with full-length TV and movies viewing rising in popularity as more consumers adopt connected TVs. eMarketer predicts that around 77 percent of US internet users will be watching online video content at least once a month in 2014.

Chadwick Martin Bailey's "Excitement about recently hyped technologies" study was based on the responses of more than 1,200 US consumers aged between 18 and 65.

http://www.cmbinfo.com/news/press-center/consumers-are-more-excited-about-content-than-devices/