BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consumers will spend more than $1 billion on Internet Radio and Connected Home Audio Devices (CHAD) in 2011, according to the latest study from the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service. The report, “Internet Radio and Connected Home Audio Devices: Connecting Homes with Music,” found that total unit sales of global connected in-home audio device grew by 57% to 3.3 million in 2010, driven by better value proposition of new products. Examples of connected home audio and internet radio devices include the Sensia audio system from Pure and the Sonos S5 Player from Sonos. The active installed base of home Internet radio devices reached 7.4 million units globally in the past year. Consumers will continue to purchase connected home audio devices in the coming years, and the total active installed base is expected to exceed 40 million units by 2015.
“While we now have plenty of electronic devices that can play music files and stream Internet audio content, a dedicated and easy-to-use Internet audio device still has its room in the home,” says Jia Wu, Senior Analyst of Connected Home Devices at Strategy Analytics. “It is a niche market, but being equipped with touch screens and Internet capability, the new generation home audio devices appeal to a decent amount of consumers that love Internet radio programs and streaming music content.”
Based on Strategy Analytics’ recent consumer survey, the report also found that the user demographics of current CHAD owners are skewed toward young and male user groups.
“It is not going to be a mainstream product category given the current price point of CHAD,” says Peter King, Director at Strategy Analytics. “But we expect to see price cut going forward due to competition, which can provide more steam to the growth of the product category.”
About Strategy Analytics
Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides timely and actionable market intelligence focused on opportunities and disruptive forces in the areas of Automotive Electronics and Entertainment, Broadband Connected Home, Mobile & Wireless Intelligent Systems and Virtual Worlds. Headquartered in Boston, MA, with offices in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, S. Korea and China, Strategy Analytics works with clients through annual multi-client services, management team workshops and custom consulting engagements. For more information, please visit http://www.strategyanalytics.com/