Consumers Need Help Getting Through the Digital Media Jungle, According to a New Survey from ABI Research.

NEW YORK -- The world in which consumers use a variety of isolated devices to enjoy pre-packaged entertainment is beginning to fade away. In the world that is emerging, consumers can increasingly choose the way they purchase, use, and manage their media, according to a new white paper published by ABI Research and available for free download on the firm's website. The white paper is based on a survey conducted of more than 1,100 U.S. consumers.

Research director Michael Wolf says, "While the convergence of different networks, the enabling of networked and broadband consumer electronics devices, and the vast array of content available to buyers, are all creating a new generation of empowered consumers, many are having a difficult time accessing and managing this content in any cohesive way."

Some major players have worked to create solutions to help consumers access and manage the wide variety of content at their disposal through tightly integrated hardware, software, and service packages. Apple's iPod/iTunes pairing is the most obvious example.

But many consumers will choose to connect to content anywhere at anytime. Holding them back will be technology barriers, old frameworks, and business interests of incumbents. These barriers essentially create friction in the entertainment experience, slowing the consumer's anytime-anywhere experience and possibly preventing it all together.

"These barriers will be the life-blood of walled-garden content services, which will remain popular for a segment of consumers," concludes Wolf. "Keeping users within their closed ecosystems will mean less friction in the media consumption experience. But over time, enabling the transition to a seamless digital media experience over open networks will ultimately benefit media companies as much as it will assist consumers."

A new white paper from ABI Research examines consumer behavior today in terms of pay media, online content, digital media storage, and management. Based in part on an online survey conducted in 2Q07, "Digital Content Unleashed" examines how new enabling technologies will drive adoption of new use-cases, and how this will create a need for more centralized management of their digital media. The white paper is available as a free Adobe PDF download on ABI Research's website at http://www.abiresearch.com. Click on the "Free White Paper: Digital Content Unleashed" button.

Methodology: Much of this white paper is based on a survey of approximately 1,192 online households in the United States completed in 2Q 2007.

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations supporting annual research programs, intelligence services and market reports in broadband and multimedia, RFID & contactless, M2M, wireless connectivity, mobile wireless, transportation, and emerging technologies. For information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.