From streaming media to 3D TV, this has been an interesting year.
December 20, 2011 | by Grant Clauser
As the year comes to a close, it’s traditional to come out with lists of the best, worst, most interesting, most dull, etc. stories of the past year. Lucky for Electronic House, 2011 has been a pretty exciting year for home technology. We rounded up our favorite trends and controversies for a quick year-in-review of some of the biggest stories of 2011 as well as a few thoughts on where some of these trends may be taking us.
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https://www.electronichouse.com/article/biggest_home_technology_trends_from_2011/
Android Catches Up with iOS
Apple may still be in the lead, but Android marketshare has been skyrocketing this year, in both smart phones and in tablets. Admittedly a large portion of Andoid’s tablet share comes from the Amazon Kindle Fire, which isn’t a full-fledged tablet, but it still opens the possibility that Android will be come more significant in the home control world.
Netflix Bombs
Is our love affair with Netflix over? First the company announces a backhanded price hike, then they launch an ill-conceived name change. Then they backtrack on the name change, but still stick customers with the price hike with no improvement in service? All that led to a steep drop off in Netflix membership, but alas, the company is still the biggest video streaming business in town. Vudu, Amazon, Blockbuster, Hulu and others all want to step in and take the mantel, but we don’t think that’s going to happen. Netflix still needs to improve its video quality and its catalog, but it’s still a pretty good deal.
Apps for Every Component
It seems every week another major control company was launching another app. Every piece of AV equipment now has a corresponding app to operate it or enhance the functionality. A smart phone or tablet is now as much a piece of your home AV gear as the Blu-ray player. We predict that it won’t be long before manufacturers stop supplying remotes for their TVs or receivers and instead just offer an app download. Maybe that won’t be such a bad thing after all.
Click here to view the full article
https://www.electronichouse.com/article/biggest_home_technology_trends_from_2011/