Event Coverage

Pre-IFA 2007 Press Conference in Monte Carlo, Monaco

By Terence Ang - 3 May 2007

New Exhibition Themes & Trends Analysis

New Exhibition Themes & Trends Analysis

IFA 2007 will also see a rethink of its exhibit categorization as it reintroduces new thematic areas, such as a MyMedia theme and a Public Media theme. In short, the different themes are:

 

  • IFA Home Entertainment - TV, DVD, Home Cinema, Home Server & Recorder
  • IFA Audio Entertainment - HiFi, Loudspeakers, Special: High Performance Audio
  • IFA MyMedia - Imaging, Photo, Video, MP3, Computing, Games, Memory Solutions
  • IFA Public Media - TV Stations, Radio, Public Music & Video Areas, Professional Media
  • IFA Communications - Telecommunications, Cable, Mobiles, Navigation, IP, Net Solutions and Antennas
  • IFA Technology & Components - Suppliers, Semiconductors, International Halls, Special: TWF �-Science & Technology Forum.

 

A few other few key trends unveiled at the press conference are:

  • Exhibitors are beginning to book earlier compared to 2006. Among those expected in IFA 2007 are Sharp, LG, Harman International, Philips, Vestel, Samsung, Grundig, Loewe, Panasonic and EPSON.
  • While the number of attendees to IFA 2006 were lower than IFA 2005, being the first annual event after being a bi-annual event, IFA 2006 saw a 28% growth in international attendees. What's even more interesting is that there is an increase in the number of international consumer electronics industry exhibitors outside of Germany, such as from countries like The Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Italy, China, Austria, Denmark, Taiwan, USA and Korea. It is expected that IFA 2007 will see more international exhibitors as well as international attendees.

 IFA 2007 will see the recategorization of thematic areas in the showfloor that included new categories like MyMedia and Public Media, which segregates elements like MP3 playing products between something that is personal to a user versus something that is more public-focused and shared with everyone else.

  • According to GfK, a research analysis firm, products with the MP3 player function is so integrated into convergent products that though many of us already know that Apple holds the dominant market share in the standalone MP3 player market, it is world number one mobile phone manufacturer like Nokia who holds the overall dominant market share in MP3 functioning products due to the fact that MP3 playback capability is integrated into the company�s mobile phones.

 Shown by GfK at the Pre-IFA 2007 Press Conference in Monte Carlo, Monaco, the convergent market of products with MP3 playback function has far and above superseded the market share of standalone players.

  • This is similar for convergent products with digital camera functions. Based on the GfK chart shown here, in 2006 alone, 72 percent of digital camera functioning products came not from standalone digital cameras (only 23 percent) but from mobile phones with camera functions (Western Europe market, out of a total of 106 million units sold.

 This trend is similar in digital camera functions. In fact the percentage between standalone digital cameras and convergent digital camera products is higher here than the MP3 playback function.

  • Finally GfK also showed a display segmentation of TVs in various regions in 2006. This included Singapore.

 While Brazil still has a 97 percent of its TV owners using CRT TVs in 2006, countries like the Western Europe and USA has 34 to 45 percent LCD TV ownership versus 8% plasma TV ownership.

 In Asian countries like Japan and Singapore, the penetration rate of the LCD TV segment among TV owners is wider. In Japan, 63% of TV owners are using LCD TVs while Singapore comes a close second with a 52% penetration rate. Plasma TVs seem to be stable at 10% for both countries.

So there you have it - a quick exposé on the pre-IFA 2007 press conference in Monte Carlo, Monaco (the previous year's was held in Athens, Greece). The organizers have done a great job in putting together the conference and materials to prepare us for the biggest consumer electronics show to come. Till 31st August 2007 then, see you at IFA 2007.

 A view of the picturesque Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.