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"Of course, the device makers have their work cut out for themselves as well.
To effectively compete with PCs, Internet devices should focus on specific targeted applications and markets, said Sean Kaldor, IDC vice president of developing markets and technologies, instead of integrating too many functions into one product. Television set-top box providers must focus on enhanced television viewing, rather than offering full-fledged Web browsing.
"On TV, watching television is the killer app," he said, pointing to interactive yellow pages and address books as the "killer app," for screen phones.
Disputing the notion that consumers are reluctant to use the television interactively, Kaldor pointed to electronic programming guides as an example of entry-level two-way services already popular among viewers.
As an e-commerce platform, television also offers an immediacy that traditional retail and even online commerce via the PC do not offer, he said. For certain products like music, video, and broadcast content on demand, e-commerce over the television offers "instant gratification," although he conceded that the platform is not ideal for true Web surfing.
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