My Cart - Smart TV is fast becoming one of the most popular forms of flat screen TV as sales rise and shipments increase massively. According to Strategy Analytics, global Smart TV shipments grew 55 percent on a year-on-year basis to reach 76 million units in 2013. This accounts for a third of the total flat screen TVs exported last year.
The Smart TV forecast report produced by Strategy Analytics showed that, of all global regions, Western Europe received the most Smart TV shipments. The company predicts that by the end of this year Smart TVs will make up 44% of flat panel TV shipments. Smart TVs are becoming more mainstream because they present an accessible, on-demand form of viewing television and film.
As Smart TVs rise in popularity, the competition between leading television vendors also becomes more aggressive. According to a vendor report by Strategy Analysis, Samsung lead the market in the last quarter of 2013 with a 26.4% share. Each TV manufacturer is battling to add more capabilities, apps and services to Smart TVs to give them a market advantage. According to David Watkins of Strategy Analysis, consumers want their TV sets to be “future proof”, meaning the technology won’t become redundant quickly, so TV manufactures have to find new ways of making their TVs outstanding and user-friendly.
Samsung is leading the market for Smart TVs as they have developed sleek, streamlined and accessible devices. The 2014 range of Samsung Smart TVs have more sensitive motion and voice controllers: the cameras have been developed so that much more subtle movements are now picked up, and the TV will respond to simple commands such as spoken numbers to change channel. This week, Samsung have also added Mubi film subscription service to their line-up of apps. For just £2.99 a month, users can view a hand-picked selection of films including blockbuster titles such as The Hunger Games. Smart TVs already have a host of apps available, such as Spotify, YouTube and Twitter, which allows you to integrate TV and internet browsing experiences.
Electronic World stock a range of cheap Smart TVs that make the TV viewing experience accessible and diverse. The internet capabilities make it possible to stream previously broadcast programmes, films, music and videos from online platforms. A variety of apps make it possible to also play games and engage with social media, and plenty of HDMI ports mean you can connect games consoles and media players too.
