The trend towards mobility and connectivity as outlined in Q2 continues to drive growth in the tech sector in Q3. Both consumers and businesses are investing in new hardware that enables them to be more productive and to access a diverse and exciting mix of services and software. This unquenchable thirst for advanced technology has resulted in 2.2% year-on-year growth (value of EUR 44.0 billion) for the Western Europe technology sector. The technology industry is showing great resilience to the recession as total revenue is expected to reach the same level of Q3 2008, just a year on after the economic crisis. Sales of notebooks and smartphones are all driving factors of growth in Q3 2010, which is highly likely to continue into 2011.

The consumer technology market in Western Europe has grown for the third quarter in a row (year-on-year figures) according to a recent report from GfK TEMAX. Growth is being driven by increasingly demanding consumers who are seeking more innovation, connectivity and mobility, which is leading to a blurring of market categories.

The same GfK TEMAX report showed that Q2 2010 saw a +3.6% increase in comparison to the same period last year. Particularly strong this quarter were the Consumer Electronics (+8.9%) and Information Technology (+4.6%) sectors. And this isn’t surprising, given the rapid pace of innovation and thus the enormous growth in breadth and depth of product range for both sectors.

Despite smartphones and mobiles with open operating systems (making up a quarter of the mobile market in Western Europe) having a volume growth of 62%, the Telecommunications market actually declined in year-on-year figures (-0.2%). It’s an extremely positive sign that the consumer technology market appears to be back on track, particularly after the year which was dubbed the “year of crisis”.

3D stereo anaglyph picture, use red blue glasses to view anaglyphic photo

For the last year or so, 3D has been one of technology’s hottest topics, with the success of 3D movies paving the way for TV manufacturers, to the extent that two in five UK adults now express an interest in buying a 3D screen for their home. But what is the opportunity for mobile device manufacturers?

There has certainly been a lot of market activity (e.g. Sharp’s unveiling of a 3D mobile phone display) in anticipation of consumer demand, but will public enthusiasm migrate to mobile phone devices?

A recent GfK Technology survey, found that 12% of mobile phone users were interested in 3D photos and 8% were interested in 3D gaming. It is likely that the latter and any apps that embrace Augmented Reality or which offer the opportunity to enhance user generated content are going to drive most interest.

If you read our post regarding 3D TV and want to check it out yourself, here’s a list of pubs showing the game in 3D:

If you do watch the game in 3D we’d love to know what you think, just let us know in the comments.

Enjoy!

NB. List courtesy of geeks.co.uk

GfK NOP research shows good levels of interest in 3D TV amongst adult consumers. The main barriers to adoption will eventually disappear, but are likely to stall early widespread adoption.

One of the recurring items in the numerous “predicted technology trends for 2010” lists that emerged at the start of the year was 3D TV.