Connected devices market to top 1.7 billion this year

The transformation of computing devices has been nothing short of stunning. Those of you who are over a certain age bracket will recall the days when the only way to check your email and browse the Internet was through your laptop (or even desktop) personal computer. 

However, that all changed with the introduction of mobile devices such as the PalmPilot, the BlackBerry and, of course, the iPhone and iPad. IDC, a global market intelligence provider, recognizes smartphones, tablets and personal computers as a category of connected digital devices (all of which can be Internet enabled) and estimates that 1.7 billion units will be shipped to consumers worldwide this year.

So what does this mean? This is the year of the connected device. There’s plenty of opportunity to develop a digital service or solution for this market. There’s also plenty of information and misinformation to crawl through, too.

Working with MaRS Market Intelligence 

If you are an Ontario entrepreneur that wants to learn more about the connected device landscape, you could get help today. As a client of a Regional Innovation Centre—like MaRS—you have access to in-depth reports from premier market intelligence vendors, including IDC, at no cost. MaRS Market Intelligence is a free service dedicated to giving you a market edge. If you want to learn more about this service, check us out here. If you’re interested in becoming a MaRS client, read more information here.

Learning with MaRS Market Intelligence 

What if you’re an entrepreneur who has a growing product in the digital ecosystems of connected computing devices? What’s next? From the continuing growth of smartphones to the introduction of connected vehicles, Internet-enabled digital connectedness will only grow. For example, last year Forrester Research estimated that as many as 30 million units of wearable computing devices would be shipped worldwide, while ABI Research forecasted that more than 485 million wearable computing devices will be shipped by 2018.

This year, MaRS will be releasing two brand-new Market Insights reports on some of the up-and-coming connected devices and platforms. The life sciences division of MaRS Market Intelligence will release a report on quantified self and wearable gadgets, while the cleantech division will release a report on energy saving and connected homes. Look for both of them during the first half of this year.

Feature photo credit: N705iu by guwashi999, used under CC BY 2.0 / cropped