Women are utilizing new technologies in their own way and are most likely to adopt new technology when it is social and relevant—that is, when it seamlessly improves their day-to-day lives

From televisions to smartphones, The Nielsen Company provides a view of the device usage and audiences in the U.S.

Now in 56 percent of U.S. households, High Definition television is one of the most quickly adopted consumer entertainment technologies of the past 20 years, but true HD viewing is still far eclipsed by viewing of standard definition television.

As the appetite for home entertainment and tech evolves, Nielsen’s Home Technology Report identifies hot technology trends and ones that have cooled over the past two years.

With the new TV season upon us, Nielsen has provided a look at what, and how, we watch TV in the U.S. Throughout 2009-2010, television viewing continued to fragment and adapt to new technologies such as digital video recorders and high-definition television.

While Americans have always enjoyed television, high definition (HD) TVs are opening a new chapter in that historic love affair. Not since color TV was introduced more than 50 years ago has a new TV technology been so rapidly adopted. And despite the recession, Americans seem willing to continue to spend their hard-earned money on this new technology.
As of February 2009, slightly more than one-third of American TV homes had at least one HDTV, a marked increase from November 2008, when 29.2 percent of homes had one, and …

According to a new Nielsen study, household television and peripheral trends are holding steady, even though the uncertain economic conditions are affecting just about every household and consumer behavior across the country.  To determine whether Americans’ continued affection for TV and related entertainment might be impacted by the economy, Nielsen examined several household characteristics among its National People Meter sample for the five quarters running from Q4 2007 to Q4 2008.
During this period, households with broadcast only (i.e., no cable or satellite service) TVs declined from 11.5 percent to 10.9 …

Almost one-quarter of all U.S. television households (23.3%) own a high definition TV set as of Nov. 30, Nielsen reported Thursday.
Nielsen’s estimates are based on a field staff review that identified TV sets capable of receiving and displaying high definition pictures, as well as those that are actually receiving those signals.
High definition TV penetration in the U.S. has more than doubled since July 2007, when Nielsen began tracking HDTV status.  At that time, only 10% of U.S. homes had access to high definition TV.

Month/Year
% of U.S. Households
With HDTV

November 2008
23.3%

October 2008
22.2%

September 2008
21.3%

August …

Was 2008 the best sports year ever?  At least in terms of viewer interest, there’s plenty of evidence to support that argument.  Consider these TV sports highlights from 2008:
-The most-watched global event ever (2008 Beijing Summer Olympics: 4.7 billion viewers)
-The most-watched Super Bowl ever (Giants-Patriots, Super Bowl XLII: 97.5 million viewers)
-The most-watched cable broadcast of all time (Cowboys-Eagles, Monday Night Football: 18.6 million viewers)
-The most-watched cable golf event of all time (Tiger vs. Rocco, U.S. Open Playoff: 4.8 million viewers)
-The most-watched cable baseball game ever (Red Sox-Rays, ALCS Game 7: …