TechTalk

TechTalk has moved!

Aoife McArdle — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:01:43 +0000

GfK is thinking BIG, and this means an improved way of talking with our clients. We have moved to http://blog.gfk.com/blog/category/technology/ So we will no longer be communicating from this blog.

The changing pages of the eBook and eReader

Leanna Appleby — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:45:19 +0000

The first eReaders were released in 1998: NuroMedia launched the Rocket and SoftBook released the Softbook reader. The somewhat basic design allowed the user to read an eBook in its simplest form – namely black text on a light background. Both readers also included a built-in dictionary. Holding approximately 10 books, the devices were the [...]

Making ‘boring’ product categories appeal to the consumer

Fawn Doherty — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:33:40 +0000

With most research focusing on high-involvement product categories (such as cutting-edge products and ‘sexy’ brands), managers of low-involving products often struggle to get their brands noticed; the same rules just don’t apply. This article explores the factors that may influence consumers’ purchase decisions in what could be seen as emotionless product categories. How can marketers [...]

Shedding the Wires

Chris Cox — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:39:19 +0000

Chargers are an inevitable result of ubiquitous consumer electronics. There are phone chargers, tablet chargers, iPod chargers, laptop chargers, and the extension cables required to support them all. At one stage, it became so complicated that the EU stepped in, passing legislation to make all phone chargers identical[1]. But despite this move, we need a [...]

The emergence of a new global TV landscape

Phil McCann — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 12:40:47 +0000

TV is in the middle of a technology revolution which has the potential to completely change the TV-viewing culture and experience. A range of technologies is contributing to this revolution including Connected TV, HDTV, 3DTV, time-shifted viewing and the ability to watch TV programs on a number of devices. These are having a significant impact [...]

The future is full of ‘appyness’: what’s next for the smartphone apps market?

Adelynne Chao — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:22:08 +0000

There’s an app for just about everything ‘There’s an app for that’ – with thousands of new smartphone apps being developed every day, this phrase (coined by Apple in 2009) is beginning to seem a reality. Our research indicates that 80% of smartphone users have experienced downloading and using apps. However, with today’s fast paced [...]

From science fiction to science fact

Colin Strong — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:06:24 +0000

Tech brands inevitably want to understand what our future technologies might look like and what we might want of them. As such, much of our time as market researchers is spent exploring how technology can meet consumer needs both from a shorter and longer-term perspective. Of course, innovation is often developed incrementally. Much of the [...]

30 million missed opportunities to delight!

Anders Nielsen — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:43:15 +0000

Recent findings on the quality of service provided by UK mobile operators, broadband, landline and TV providers reveal that more than one in three call centre or email support interactions leave customers either indifferent or unhappy with the experience[1]. If we stick our necks out and factor in contact frequencies over the course of a [...]

TechTalk: The TV Edition

Aoife McArdle — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:58:35 +0000

The TV edition of our magazine, TechTalk, is now out, exploring current trends, issues and market developments affecting technology organisations today. It’s difficult to think of a technology that has been more important and influential than TV. For a large part of the twentieth century, TV played a key part in many of our lives, [...]

Tablet PC’s: a serious business tool or yet to make the grade?

Andrew Stillwell — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:57:34 +0000

When Apple launched the iPad in 2010, tablet PC’s emerged as a revolutionary consumer gadget; by 2011 the tablet market was worth US$35.3 billion (£22.5 billion)[1]. The iPad remains dominant in this market, with other tablets such as BlackBerry PlayBook, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HP Touchpad, and Motorola Xoom entering the market with varying degrees of [...]