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Nielsen, January 6, 2012
Almost one in three U.S. TV households – 35.9 million – owns four or more televisions, according to a new report on media usage from Nielsen. Across the ever-changing U.S. media landscape, TV maintains its stronghold as the most popular device, with 290 million Americans and 114.7 households owning at least one. In contrast, 211 million Americans are online and 116 million (ages 13+) access the mobile Web.

For more insights on usage and trends across TV, mobile, online, and social media download Nielsen’sState of the Media: Consumer Usage Report.

One-third of Mobile Subscribers Access Social Networking on Mobile Device

RESTON, VA, December 29, 2011 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending November 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.6 percent market share. Google Android continued to capture share in the smartphone market to reach 46.9 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

For the three-month average period ending in November, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.3 percentage points), followed by LG with 20.5 percent share and Motorola with 13.7 percent share. Apple strengthened its position at #4 with 11.2 percent share of total mobile subscribers (up 1.4 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 6.5 percent share.

Smartphone Platform Market Share

91.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in November, up 8 percent from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 46.9 percent market share, up 3.1 percentage points from the prior three-month period. Apple maintained its #2 position, growing 1.4 percentage point to 28.7 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 16.6 percent share, followed by Microsoft (5.2 percent) and Symbian (1.5 percent).

Mobile Content Usage

In November, 72.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 2.1 percentage points. Downloaded applications were used by 44.9 percent of subscribers (up 3.3 percentage points), while browsers were used by 44.4 percent (up 2.3 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 2.1 percentage points to 33.0 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 29.7 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.2 percentage points), while 21.7 percent listened to music on their phones (up 1.0 percentage points).

Thanks to the greater availability of Netflix, Hulu, and similar services, streaming videos via a game console has grown in popularity over last year, says a new study from Nielsen.

Surveying more than 3,000 people in the U.S. in October, Nielsen found that video streaming now accounts for 14 percent of all time spent on Microsoft’sXbox 360, 15 percent of time spent on the Sony PlayStation 3, and 33 percent spent on the Nintendo Wii

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Source: ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2011)

Many older adults lose their independence as their health declines and they are compelled to move into assisted care facilities. Researchers at the University of Missouri and TigerPlace, an independent living community, have been using motion-sensing technology to monitor changes in residents’ health for several years. Now, researchers have found that two devices commonly used for video gaming and security systems are effective in detecting the early onset of illness and fall risk in seniors.

Marjorie Skubic, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the MU College of Engineering, is working with doctoral student, Erik Stone, to use the Microsoft Kinect, a new motion-sensing camera generally used as a video gaming device, to monitor behavior and routine changes in patients at TigerPlace. These changes can indicate increased risk for falls or early symptoms of illnesses.

“The Kinect uses infrared light to create a depth image that produces data in the form of a silhouette, instead of a video or photograph,” said Stone. “This alleviates many seniors’ concerns about privacy when traditional web camera-based monitoring systems are used.”

Another doctoral student, Liang Liu, is collaborating with Mihail Popescu, assistant professor in the College of Engineering and the Department of Health Management and Informatics in the MU School of Medicine, to develop a fall detection system that uses Doppler radar to recognize changes in walking, bending and other movements that may indicate a heightened risk for falls. Different human body parts create unique images, or “signatures,” on Doppler radar. Since falls combine a series of body part motions, the radar system can recognize a fall based on its distinct “signature.”

“Falls are especially dangerous for older adults and if they don’t get help immediately, the chances of serious injury or death are increased,” said Liu. “If emergency personnel are informed about a fall right away, it can significantly improve the outcome for the injured patient.”

Both motion-sensing systems provide automated data that alert care providers when patients need assistance or a medical intervention. The systems currently are used for monitoring residents at TigerPlace in Columbia. Skubic says the system allows residents to maintain their independence and take comfort in knowing that illnesses or falls may be detected early.

Stone’s study, “Evaluation of an Inexpensive Depth Camera for Passive In-Home Fall Risk Assessment,” won the best paper award at the Pervasive Health Conference, in Dublin, Ireland in May. Liu’s study, “Automatic Fall Detection Based on Doppler Radar Motion,” received the best poster award at the conference. Liu’s paper was a collaboration with GE Global Research and co-authored by Tarik Yardibi and Paul Cuddihy. TigerPlace is a joint project of the Sinclair School of Nursing and AmErikare, a long-term care company.

The research is part of Mizzou Advantage, the five unique areas that set MU apart from other universities. The project contributes to the “Managing Innovation: Navigating Disruptive and Transformational Technologies” initiative that will touch on virtually every part of the university to explore areas in which existing technologies are changing rapidly.

By Dan Rowinski / July 28, 2011
ReadWriteWeb

The mobile entertainment industry is heating up. From gambling to gaming to music and video, there is a lot that can be done with a smartphone or a tablet these days to keep consumers occupied. And the money is rolling in.

In 2010, the mobile entertainment industry was a $33 billion industry,according to research from Juniper in March 2011. It is expected to be a $54 billion industry by 2015. Gaming now takes up a great portion of people’s time on mobile devices. In part, that is due to the rise of the “female gamer” according to research in a new infographic from the folks at smartphone niche site Geekaphone. Females make up 53% of the mobile gaming market. Angry Birds, in all its various incantations, has been downloaded 140 million times and 58% of app developers are making games for multiple mobile platforms. Check out the infographic below for some interesting details on the state of the mobile entertainment industry and gaming.

Apple’s iOS has approximately 333,214 applications available, against 206,143 or so for Android. But you are out of luck if you are a BlackBerry owner as the BlackBerry App World only has 26,771 and 46% of BlackBerry have games on their phones. That is partly due to the enterprise nature of Research In Motion’s clientele but you would think that they might have at least one or two simple games to play while waiting in the airport during business trips.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello recently told according to tech blog Tuaw that its biggest growing platform is the iPad.

“Consoles used to be 80% of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40% of the game industry, so what do we really have? We have a new hardware platform and we’re putting out software every 90 days. Our fastest growing platform is the iPad right now and that didn’t exist 18 months ago.”

Take a look at the infographic and let us know what you think.