Parks: Home networking gets mobile in '09

By Keith Shaw on Tue, 12/30/08 - 11:21am.

A new study from research firm Parks Associates says interest in home networking technologies will move away from connecting fixed devices (PCs, printers, etc.), and toward mobile and portable devices that can connect to an existing network. The study found that nearly 50% of U.S. broadband households want a digital camera with networking functions, and almost 40% would be interested in a networked digital photo frame.

About a third surveyed are interested in having a networked mobile phone – in other words, they want to be able to transfer a mobile phone call to a fixed-line phone. Similarly, about a third of respondents want a networked portable multimedia player, letting them move music and photos from a "fixed" device like a PC into a mobile player. In addition, just over 20% were interested in a networked TV and networked Blu-Ray player.

As we head into next week's Consumer Electronics Show, I would expect to see products that take advantage of this – mobile devices that can access the user's home network will be more valuable (and interesting) than stand-alone devices without the networking capabilities. Digital photo frames were nice when they came out, but without the ability to easily add photos to the device via a network, they become less valuable. And connecting to a network doesn't mean having a USB port that can connect to a networked PC – these devices will need to have Wi-Fi or other similar wireless networking technologies in order to be successful (in my humble opinion).

Another interesting note from this study was the types of devices that users want to have networking capabilities. I think most home network users have connected their PCs, printers and other "fixed" devices to the network, and now are looking at expanding their options towards more mobile and entertainment-like devices (multimedia players, digital cameras, TVs, etc.). Lots of devices have had this ability for a while now – I'm constantly seeing devices with its ability. But this research suggests that the average U.S. household is ready to take the next step – going beyond connecting just their PCs to the network and adding additional devices to the network. It's a nice evolutionary step, and we should see next week just how ready the market and home network manufacturers are to provide easy network access to these new devices to fulfill users' interest in connected mobile devices.