14 DAY TRIAL // Anyone wondering just how much consumers had taken to Smart TVs will get their answer, or got it a while ago but are now getting a confirmation that yes, Smart TVs are quite successful and will continue to be.
According to a new report, Smart TVs are going to snatch a fifth of the worldwide TV market in 2012.
That means that they will hold a percentage of 20, which is quite a bit knowing how they only really took off this year.
To provide context, Smart TVs are a sort of HDTVs with certain abilities that cross over into PC territory.
They (or some of them, which boast LAN or WiFi) can access the web on their own and perform certain tasks and run programs (widgets mostly) thanks to built-in chips.
Also, they can play the part of hubs for other electronics, via USB ports or other I.O technologies, even wireless ones.
In 2011, they will make up 10% of the HDTV market, which means that 2012 will double their presence.
One can easily assume that the same will happen in 2013, but that is not precisely true.
In fact, according to the aforementioned report, the share will more than double, leaping from 20% to 50%.
After that, this sort of displays will probably take the mainstream spot away from regular ones, or come very close to it, as prices get more accessible.
In the meantime, one can only wonder what will happen to set-top boxes, media players and other multimedia devices if their roles are usurped in this fashion.
CES 2012 is where connected Smart TVs will probably come out in force, though they may be lost in the sea of tablets and ultrabooks (30 to 50 super-light laptops are poised to make a showing there, so it might be a bit crowded).