Connected consumer second-quarter 2012: analysis and outlook

Table of Contents

  1. Summary
  2. Apple’s virtual TV
  3. Microsoft gets smart about the second screen
  4. Facebook buttons up
  5. Big cable out of favor at DO
  6. The tablet civil wars
  7. Near-term outlook
  8. Key takeaways
  9. About Paul Sweeting

1. Summary

Tablets featured prominently in the connected consumer space during the second  quarter of 2012, both as a product category in their own right and as a component of  broader platform strategies by the major OS providers. The period also saw important  moves by Facebook to broaden its monetization strategy and an investigation by  federal antitrust authorities into pay-TV licensing practices and their impact on the  emerging online-video business.

  • Apple still has not introduced an integrated TV set, but it added AirPlay streaming to Mac OS, increasing the number of devices capable of  communicating with Apple TV as it builds its virtual-TV platform
  • Microsoft made an aggressive bid to dominate the second screen by introducing SmartGlass apps, which enable any mobile device to sync with an Xbox 360  console.
  • Facebook began laying the groundwork to add payment processing and other ecommerce tools to its platform to expand its monetization opportunities.
  • The U.S. Department of Justice opened an antitrust investigation into whether cable MSOs are acting illegally to squash growing competition from online video services.
  • Both Microsoft and Google unveiled their own tablet hardware, putting themselves in direct competition with their OEM partners

This quarterly wrap-up discusses these developments as well as offers trends and topics to watch in the second half of 2012 and beyond.