Shipments of Connected Devices to Top 3 Billion

SCOTTSDALE: The number of Internet-connected consumer-entertainment devices shipped worldwide will rise at a compound annual growth rate of 21 percent to reach more than 3 billion by 2016, according to ABI Research.

TV sets and Blu-ray players will lead this growth, ABI says. Jason Blackwell, practice director at ABI Research, notes, “TV and video player connectivity is being strongly driven by streaming services such as Netflix in the United States and LOVEFiLM in the U.K. Gaming consoles also create powerful demand for connectivity; although connected consoles are nothing new, they still rank strongly in connected home entertainment and will see increased shipment numbers through 2014.”