Emerging markets now account for over two thirds of all mobile phone handset shipments with China and India leading the charge, according to a new global tracking service from Futuresource Consulting.
“The global handset market will decline by around 3% in 2009, with consumers and businesses alike keeping hold of their handsets for longer,” says David [...]

The European photobook market is on track for continued healthy growth, with demand projected to reach nearly 14.5m units this year, up from 10.7m in 2008, according to a new Photobook Market Report from Futuresource Consulting.
“Although market volumes have been affected by recent economic conditions, the segment has put in a strong performance, with pricing [...]

Commentary supplied by
Simon Bryant, Principal Consultant – Consumer Electronics & Imaging, Futuresource Consulting
The Portable Consumer Electronics Market
Netbooks, pocket video cameras, digital SLRs, smartphones, mobile Internet devices and handheld games consoles are fuelling growth in the European portable electronics market this year, which in the face of economic challenges and convergence, grew 18% in 2008 to [...]

As we move ever closer to the critical Q4 trading period, Futuresource Consulting takes a look at some of the hot product segments, providing an insight into where the CE market is going and what movements we should expect to see on the UK high street in the run up to Christmas.
Flat Panel TVs
Consumer appetite [...]

In 2009, Blu-ray title prices have declined rapidly and the pricing gap is narrowing, according to Futuresource Consulting’s price tracking service. The service shows that in February the average Blu-ray price for new release movies in the UK was £27.29. By the beginning of August this had dropped to £16.74 – a sizeable decline of [...]

Commentary by Mike Fisher, Convergence & New Technologies Consultant, Futuresource Consulting
Global sales of projectors witnessed a quiet first half this year, with budget restrictions in the corporate market continuing to restrict market demand. Global Q2 volumes reached nearly 1.3 million units, representing a 16% year-on-year drop from Q2 2008. With many corporates continuing to hold [...]

As the development of 3D technologies intensifies, opportunities within B2B applications become more attractive, with digital out of home (DOOH) systems offering an ideal proving ground for ‘no glasses’ 3D systems. Across the planet, vast numbers of static poster sites are available for replacement by 3D digital billboards, while theme parks, museums, casinos and flagship [...]

Global household penetration of fixed broadband continues apace, with total subscribers on track to break the 500 million barrier next year, according to recent research from Futuresource Consulting.
“More than 60% of all fixed broadband households on the planet are connecting using xDSL, where digital data transmission takes place over a local telephone network, while cable [...]

Illegal downloads still going strong
8% of consumers across the UK, France, Germany and the USA admitted to downloading video content illegally from file sharing websites, a new consumer research study by Futuresource Consulting reveals. The study, ‘Living With Digital: Consumer Insights into Entertainment Consumption’, used a representative sample in each country and provided respondents with [...]

The US photobook market is on track for healthy growth this year, with demand projected to reach nearly 17m units this year, up from close to 12.5m in 2008, according to a new US Photobook Market Report from Futuresource Consulting.
“In value terms, the US photobook market is establishing itself as a significant contributor to industry [...]