Hasta La Gadget!

How big is the connected devices universe? Analyst ABI Research reckons the Internet of Things contains some 10 billion+ wireless connected devices today. But it’s predicting this figure will triple in size to more than 30 billion devices in an Internet of Everything by 2020, as more and more objects are plugged into the network. The figures come from new ABI research published today.

The firm says the standardisation push behind ultra-low power wireless technologies is “one of the main enablers” of this Internet of Everything — which already contains such curios as the Hapifork and keyless entry systems that let you open your front door from an app. ABI analyst Peter Cooney notes that while 10 billion devices might sound like a lot, there are still many years before the IoE “reaches its full potential” — whatever that means.

“The next 5 years will be pivotal in its growth and establishment as a tangible concept to the consumer,” says Cooney in a statement.

ABI says a range of wireless technologies — including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Cellular and RFID, plus many others — are all important to driving growth in smart connected devices, but says the “long-term expansion of the market” depends on wireless technology “becoming invisible so that the consumer will be oblivious to which technology is used and only know that it works.”

And while “hub devices” — namely smartphones, tablets and laptops — are the enablers of the IoE ecosystem (such as the iPad being used as the hub for a smart connected kitchen scales, for instance), ABI sees future growth in this network being driven by “node or sensor type devices,” as device-makers start to think about connecting more of the things more of the time, not just things that are in close proximity to people some of the time.

ABI predicts that by 2020 nodes/sensors will account for the majority (60 percent) of the total installed base of IoE devices. Personal connected mobile devices will still be “an essential building block,” however.

[Image by FutUndBeidl via Flickr]

Despite being such a (relatively) new category of device tablets are racing up on their smaller cellular cousins, with rapidly growing user adoption and smartphone-surpassing web page traffic generation. Little wonder then that tablet apps are also generating increasing amounts of revenue — predicted to pass smartphone app revenue within five years.

Making a forecast in a new report, analyst ABI Research predicts tablets will account for more than a third (35%) of total app revenues this year, or some $8.8 billion out of a total pool of $25 billion. That’s still a way behind smartphones of course — projected to generate $16.4 billion this year, or just under double the amount generated by tablet apps — but the revenue share is growing and ABI reckons tablets will surpass smartphones in app revenue generation by 2018.

The reasons for tablets to become ultimate app revenue winners are down to their larger screen, which offers plenty of scope for developers to build attractive wares, and also lower cost slates helping to ramp up tablet ownership and increase app downloads, reckons ABI.

“The larger screen makes apps and content look and feel better, so there are more lucrative opportunities,” says senior analyst Aapo Markkanen in a statement. ”One might think that the bigger installed base of smartphones would compensate for the disparity, but that notion fails to take into account the arrival of low-cost tablets, which hasn’t even started yet at its earnest. The smartphones paved the way for them, but in the end we believe that it’s the tablets that will prove the more transformative device segment of the two.”

The analyst adds that the tablet category is also well placed to open up the computing market by addressing underserved demographic groups such as the elderly and children. “The really big deal about tablets is how they will help to finally bring the computing age to, for instance, children and the elderly,” says Markkanen. ”The business opportunity associated with them is undeniable, but at the same they can also bring about very significant social benefits.”

On the OS front, ABI predicts that the lion’s share of the app wealth this year will continue to be generated within Apple’s iOS ecosystem: it expects 65% of the combined $25 billion to come from iOS vs just over a quarter (27%) from Google’s Android ecosystem. While “the other mobile platforms” will generate the remaining 8% between them (ABI does not break this out).

Despite dominating app revenue, ABI recently predicted that Apple’s iOS will only account for 33% of the smartphone app downloads this year, vs. 58% being Android apps. However Apple’s tablet lead with its iPad devices continues to be a big one, with ABI expecting 75% of the tablet apps downloaded this year to be iPad apps, vs. just 17% being Android apps. Amazon (with its Kindle Fire tablet) is projected to get around 4% app share, while Windows tablets are relegated to around 2%.