Net-Connected Gadgets Outnumber People in the U.S.

And that ratio will continue to favor the devices according to research firm The NPD Group. The driving force will be screen-sharing — displaying content from the small-screens of smartphones and tablets to large-screen connected TVs. An NPD Group executive noted:

Through 2013, multi-screen and multi-device synergy will lead the growth in the broader connected device market, but only if services consumers desire are delivered in a simplistic manner. In this connected world, content providers and consumer technology OEMs need to determine the optimal mix of services and have them on the right devices.

Using an Internet-connected like a smartphone or tablet to “throw” content to a TV screen requires also that consumers change their mindsets about how TVs are used. NPD estimates that 15% of all HDTVs in the U.S. are connected to the Internet and that number nearly doubles, to 29%, when the firm counts other devices that throw content to the TV screen.

But screen-sharing has got to be made simpler: “OEMs and retailers need to focus less on new innovation in this space and more on simplification of the user experience and messaging if they want to drive additional, and new, behaviors on the TV.”