Peel Wins Global Mobile Award at MWC
Peel was honored with the coveted Global Mobile Award for
‘Best Mobile Photo, Art, Video or TV App’ at the 2015 Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona. The award was accepted by Peel CEO Thiru
Arunachalam at the GSMA’s 20th Global Mobile Awards hosted by actor,
comedian, writer and film producer John Cleese March 3.
With the Peel Smart Remote app, users anywhere in the world
can control their TV, set-top box, DVD and Blu-ray, along with a
growing list of connected home devices and appliances. Peel also
recommends television content to watch based on preferences and past
viewing behavior, while allowing users to set reminders, program their
DVR and assign program favorites.
“Our entire team has been dedicated to simplifying and
improving the TV and broader home control experience. This international
award acknowledges all our hard work along with the global solution we
have built,” said Peel Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Bala
Krishnan.
The Peel Smart Remote has more than 100 million users worldwide,
generating more than 7 billion remote commands every month. The Peel app
comes preloaded on more than half of all Android devices sold globally,
including two new flagship smartphones announced Sunday at MWC – the
Samsung Galaxy S6 and the HTC One M9.
The Global Mobile Awards
are judged by more than 300 independent experts, analysts, journalists,
academics and in some cases, mobile operator representatives. More
information on the Global Mobile Awards 2015 can be found at
http://www.globalmobileawards.com/winners-2015/.
Peel Introduces Intelligent Home Control at MWC
Peel announced today at Mobile
World Congress 2015 in Barcelona that it is expanding the range of
devices controlled by its leading smart remote app to include a variety
of smart home electronics, including smart thermostats, lighting, air
conditioners, smart plugs, and other home appliances.
“Our customers have pushed us to extend our universal
remote capabilities beyond TVs, set-top boxes and other entertainment
devices to include additional categories of home electronics,” said Peel
co-founder and chief product officer Bala Krishnan. “What they are
looking for, and what we will provide, is a unified, multi-device,
intelligent home experience controlled from a single smart remote app.”
Peel will be previewing its new intelligent home control capabilities
in its booth at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from March 2-5, as
well as in a keynote delivered by co-founders Bala Krishnan and Thiru
Arunachalam on March 5.
Through a range of connection modes, including IR,
bluetooth and WiFi, and new interface screens, the expanded Peel app
will allow users to create pre-set “Peel-in” room experiences that
integrate multiple home electronics.
“A Peel-in living room experience might involve
simultaneously turning on the TV and sound system, closing the blinds,
adjusting room temperature and lowering the lights, all with the tap of
one button,” explained Krishnan.
The Peel app comes preloaded on more than half of all
Android phones and tablets sold and has more than 100 million users
worldwide, generating more than 7 billion remote commands a month.
Peel this week also launched its iOS smart remote solution for
Europe, which includes an app localised for 30 European countries and
the Pronto, a companion hardware device that connects to a user’s
smartphone via bluetooth and then controls their home electronics with a
360-degree infrared (IR) blaster. Pronto will be available next month
for under 50 euros from major retailers throughout Europe.Peel is a leading driver of TV tune-in both through its True Tune-in advertising products and the Peel.in platform, which is used by major TV networks, such as CBS, CNN, Fox, HBO, HISTORY, NBC, to promote their programmes via Facebook and Twitter.
Peel is a finalist for “Best Mobile Photo, Art, Video or TV App” at the 2015 GSMA Global Mobile Awards, winners of which will be announced March 3 at Mobile World Congress.
The Peel booth at MWC is located at CS180 in Congress Square.
Peel Survey Shows Consumers Just Warming Up to Smart Home in 2015
Many
in tech circles have already declared 2015 the year of the connected
home, and indeed 13% of U.S. consumers have made a resolution to add a
smart home device this year, with millennials four times as likely as
baby boomers to take the plunge, according to Peel’s latest survey.
Connected home devices such as smart thermostats, locks and
lightbulbs were front-and-center at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas earlier this month, have been widely touted in the media
and are readily available at home stores. Many consumers are still
lukewarm when it comes to adopting the technology in their homes,
however.
The top reason for not buying a smart home control device,
cited by the 1,069 U.S. consumers surveyed last week, was the high cost,
followed by their “current devices work just fine” and “don’t see value
in the technology.” As might be expected, U.S. consumers in the highest
household income bracket ($150K+) were twice as likely as those in the
lower brackets to have plans to invest in smart home control in 2015.
A couple of bright spots in the survey were that only 6% of
respondents said they thought the devices were “too difficult to
install” or that the technology “was not smart enough.”
“This indicates that consumers may be in a ‘wait-and-see’
pattern perhaps looking for prices to come down,” said Peel’s Chief
Product Officer and co-founder Bala Krishnan. “The core technology is
here, but the industry needs to come to agreement on standards and
protocols along with a more palatable entry point for the average
consumer.”
Smart thermostats cost in the range of $250, not including installation, and smart light bulbs run $40-$90 per unit.
What devices top smart home tech resolution lists? Smart
thermostats such as the Nest Learning Thermostat had the most expected
purchases (7.6%), followed by smart light bulbs such as the Philips Hue
(5.0%), and smart door locks such as August or Kevo locks (4.7%). Less
than 4% are looking to buy a smart hub or switch like SmartThings or
WeMo.
While millennials were more drawn to the technology than boomers by a
ratio of 4:1 (35% vs. 8%) interestingly, there was very little
difference in likelihood to purchase among men and women. Suburban
homeowners were slightly more likely to move toward smart devices than
their urban or rural counterparts.
Peel, which has more than 100 million smart remote users
worldwide, is focused on controlling entertainment devices such as TVs,
DVD players, sound systems and streaming devices such as Apple TV and
Roku. Recently, however, the company has found that more consumers are
asking for its universal remote capabilities to expand to include other
appliances, including air conditioners and ceiling fans, along with
smart home devices.
“We are seeing a demand for our app to control smart
devices around the globe, starting in places like China and India, where
many consumers have a variety of appliances controlled by remotes,”
added Krishnan. “But as smart home devices begin to proliferate in
developed countries, a lot of our customers are looking for a unified
control experience.”
Peel conducted the survey the week of January 9, 2015 with 1,069 respondents.
Syfy Promotes “Ascension” with Peel.in Platform
Syfy channel, part of the NBCUniversal family, worked with
Peel last month to drive viewership for “Ascension,” a special
three-night TV event. Using a dedicated Peel.in link, Syfy promoted
“Ascension” on Facebook and Twitter allowing viewers to tap the link to
change the channel on their TV or set a reminder to watch.
On top of the new partnership with Syfy, VH1 utilized the Peel.in
Platform for their entire primetime lineup beginning December 15, which
includes new and returning shows such as “Mob Wives”, “Bye Felicia”,
“Love & Hip Hop: New York”, “Suave Says”, and “Sorority Sisters.”Peel Data: Millennials Favor New Breed of Holiday Classics
Peel conducted a survey of 1,500 U.S. smartphone users on
their holiday movie watching preferences and paired the survey with
actual tune-in data from millions of users of the Peel Smart Remote app
to find out which holiday movies are top picks for Millennials, Gen
X’ers, and Boomers.
Among all age groups and genders, TV viewers consistently planned to
watch an average of 3.4 holiday-themed movies between Thanksgiving and
Christmas this year. Where the divergence between generations exists is
which movies they preferred to watch. For example, Boomers — somewhat
predictably — favored older classics such as “It’s a Wonderful Life,”
“Miracle of 34th St, and “White Christmas.” On the other hand,
Millennials tuned to modern favorites such as “Elf” and “The Santa
Clause.” But the top “must-watch” favorite across ALL age groups was
the classic “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer,” which celebrates its 50th
anniversary this year.Topping Santa’s list of overall “stickiest” movies was “The Santa Clause,” with 71% of viewers still watching after 30 minutes. ” Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” tied with the new Hallmark movie “Christmas Under Wraps” for second place with 69% retained viewers. “Rudolph,” perhaps showing its age, lagged behind a bit with only 62% still onboard the sleigh after 30 minutes.
So what’s the big takeaway from Peel’s data on all this? Regardless of age group, holiday movies on TV are still well-loved, so savvy networks and advertisers are smart to bet on the continued popularity of holiday fare among all ages.
Peel Holiday Movies Survey Results
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