• March 13, 2001

The trend in Internet access is away from computers to Web phones, Web TV, PDAs and cell phones, says Cahners In-Stat Group, Scottsdale, AZ, which conducted 1,000 consumer phone interviews to determine the types of Internet access devices they are likely to buy. They don't necessarily own the ones they mentioned.

The report, Internet Access Devices in the Home: Are Consumers Ready?" also found that 58% of consumers access the Internet from home and 30% from work. While the number of Internet access devices continues to grow, the growth in their use is "slower than anticipated," says Cindy Wolf, a Cahners research analyst. "The number is growing but adoption has been slow the past year."

She attributes this to the marketing problems of the device manufacturers who "went to market believing they'd attract non-PC owners, but found most of the people who purchase them use them as supplemental products."

The companies now are "realizing the majority of the market is more tech savvy with increased interest in the devices because of home networking. They want to wire their homes to accept several devices in different rooms and synchronize the devices in any room." Use of the devices will also grow because of "increased attention to broadband services," she says.

The report is primarily of interest to the access device manufacturers. It will help them better market their products. Cahners declined to make the report available to MediaPost or any other media outlet. It is selling it for $1,995,00.

- Ken Liebeskind