Type of Article: MacTech Blog

Overall, ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) expects the video game market to pass US$80 billion in 2020, growing from under $70 billion in 2014.

Mobile gaming is behind nearly all of this projected growth, with the traditional PC and console segments seeing 1 to 2% annual growth. Triple-A titles have the potential to dramatically change a developer/publisher’s financials, but gaming’s long tail is equally important to the continued growth of the industry.

The global smart TV market is expected to post a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 20.37% from 2014-2019, as consumers are spending more than ever on electronics, according to a new report from research firm Technavio (www.technavio.com).

The new report draws attention towards economic growth in developing countries that has improved the financial status of a significant portion of the population. This has resulted in higher consumer purchasing power, which has contributed to increased spending on consumer electronic goods.

Chromebooks: cloud-centric, budget-friendly, fast-booting, secure computing devices that are more functional than tablets and less expensive than the average laptop PC are market changers, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

In 2014, Chromebooks gained traction in North America, and are set to continue growing as streaming devices become more popular among consumers and purchasing entities. According to ABI Research, Chromebooks experienced 235% growth between 2013 and 2014, with shipments reaching 4.87 million in 2014.

Worldwide combined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) are estimated to reach 2.5 billion units in 2015, an increase of 2.8% over 2014, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). In spending terms, the global computing devices market (PCs and ultramobiles) is on pace to reach US$226 billion, a 7.2% decline in current U.S. dollars, says the research group.

Worldwide public Wi-Fi hotspot deployments have reached a total of 5.69 million in 2014, and will grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 11.2% between 2015 and 2020, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

This includes public Wi-Fi hotspots deployed by mobile and fixed-line carriers as well as third-party Wi-Fi service providers. ABI Research expects the number of worldwide carrier Wi-Fi hotspots will reach 13.3 million in 2020.