Port Washington, N.Y. – There are now more than 500 million connected devices in the United States, reached primarily on the back of smartphone and tablet sales, according to The NPD Group.
The research firm’s “Connected Intelligence Connected Home” report saw a marked jump in the number of connected devices just during the last quarter.
During this period the number of connected devices per household jumped to 5.7 from 5.3, said John Buffone, director, devices, NPD Connected Intelligence. About 18 million tablets and 9 million smartphones were added during this period. Buffone noted that Samsung and Apple dominated the smartphone purchases, while Apple continues to lead in tablets.
During the last three months, smartphone penetration increased to 57 percent from 52 percent of all cellphone users, while tablet ownership went to 53 percent from 35 percent of all Internet households.
And the end is not yet in sight.
“It’s hard to believe that tablets and smartphones are still somewhat in their infancy,” said Buffone. “But as we have seen in just the past few months, there is significant potential for this market to develop further.”
Despite the huge influx of mobile connected devices, the PC is still the dominant connected product in the U.S. with a 93 percent household penetration rate. However, PC’s have stayed steady at this stage, while smartphone and tablet penetration rates have skyrocketed.
