SA Says 400 Million Connected Convergent Devices in 2014

The Connected Convergent Devices (CCDs) market will claim a global installed base of over 400 million units by 2014, according to research just released by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. The report, “Connected Convergent Devices: The New Battleground,” envisions CCDs filling the gap between smartphones and netbooks—a gap that is ripe for growth.

The firm estimates the value of the CCD market will exceed $50 billion in 2014. Some cannibalization is inevitable, according to the report, particularly among the tablets, netbooks, eBook readers and Mobile Internet devices (MIDs) categories.“ All categories have the potential to be very disruptive,” said Peter King, Director of the Connected Home Device service at Strategy Analytics. “However, all have their place in the market, and as casual computing develops, new products such as the tablet can be additive to the market as well as cannibalistic”.

CE, Mobile and PC companies are vying for the consumer wallet with a variety of Connected Convergent Devices, including tablets, netbooks, smartbooks, eBook readers and MIDs. “We have recently witnessed price erosion and product withdrawals in the eBook reader market, and the netbook market growth has slowed down since the introduction of the Apple iPad,” added King. “As rival tablets hit the market by year-end, many driven by Google’s Android, we will see even more competition in this dynamic new market segment.”

This sounds reasonable as these devices have come down drastically in price. With the Kindle now at $139, I am tempted to buy one. If it was over $300 like the original devices, I might as well buy an iPad or netbook and get a device the does several functions.