The market for power sources used in the Internet of Things will grow from $57 million in 2014 to $590 million in four years and to more than $2.4 billion by 2021, said a report from NanoMarkets (http://bit.ly/1wEkHDu). Products that have had niche success so far -- thin-film and printed batteries, energy harvesting modules, flexible photovoltaic panels and thermoelectric sources -- could generate “hundreds of millions of dollars” in revenue annually through IoT, it said. Mobile phones currently account for most of the $57.1 million thin-film and printed battery market, but smart cards, semiconductors/computing and wearables are each expected to grow into hundred-million-dollar battery markets by the end of the decade, NanoMarkets said. Other growth opportunities in IoT power include inductive power sources -- used almost exclusively in wireless chargers now -- which approach $5 million in current annual revenue but are forecast to pass $100 million revenue by 2018, jumping to $760 million by 2021, it said. The growth driver will be increased adoption of RFID tags, a segment forecast to hit a $100 million market by 2019 and $583 million by 2021, it said. While energy-harvesting power sources are a $7 million market through 2015, they're expected to spike to $41.5 million in 2016 on “rapid uptake” for sensors and networks, NanoMarkets said. Growth for energy-harvesting devices will pick up, increasing to $161 million by 2018 and $557 million by 2021, it said. Revenue for wearables power sources is forecast to accelerate from “next to nothing” today to $82 million in 2018 and $200 million by 2021, it said.

The reasons for not requiring DBS and IPTV systems to comply with separable security requirements no longer apply in the current market, said TiVo General Counsel Matt Zinn in a meeting with staff from the FCC chairman’s office, Media Bureau and AT&T/DirecTV deal review team Sept. 11, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 97-80 Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1o3WCOw). CableCARD rules should remain in place until there’s a successor solution, Zinn told FCC staff.

Sixty percent of U.S. consumers expect to have experienced a house that speaks or reads to them by 2025, said a study on the impact of technology commissioned by Intel’s McAfee. Seventy-seven percent of consumers think the most common device in 11 years will be a smart watch, and 70 percent believe overall wearable devices will be common personal accessories. Seventy-two percent of consumers expect connected kitchen appliances will be a household item by 2015, six in 10 expect their refrigerators to automatically add food to a running grocery list when items are running low, and 84 percent believe their home security systems will be connected to their mobile devices, McAfee said. Almost 70 percent of respondents expressed concern over the state of cybersecurity in 2025, with identity theft, monetary theft and fraud the leading issues. By 2025, 38 percent of U.S. consumers expect to unlock their mobile device by eye scan followed by a thumbprint, McAfee said. On mobile pay, a third of consumers believe they'll be able to pay for items using their fingerprint, while 22 percent expected to use their mobile device. Twenty-six percent of respondents said they planned to still pay by credit or debit card. The online survey was done Aug. 1-12 by MSI Research among 1,507 U.S. citizens ages 21-65, split evenly by age and gender.

Pushing design and affordability, Sprint said Tuesday the HTC Desire 510 will be available Friday for postpaid and no-contract customers. Qualifying Sprint Easy Pay customers can buy the Desire 510 for no money down and 24 monthly payments of $8.34 (based on a $199 suggested retail price) with a service plan, it said. Sprint’s prepaid Boost Mobile unit will sell the Desire 510 in white for $99 beginning Sept. 23, and Virgin Mobile will sell a blue version for $99, also beginning Sept. 23, it said. The 4.7-inch phone has a Qualcomm 1.2 GHz processor and 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, Sprint said.

Advocates of quantum dots have hailed the technology as capable of delivering OLED-like color performance to mainstream-priced LCD panels. Now, researchers from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of Oklahoma have found a new way to control the properties of quantum dots, said an article published Tuesday in the Journal of Applied Physics (http://bit.ly/1t4Zgc1). A key property of quantum dots that makes them so useful is their fluorescence, the article said. But their ability to glow can deteriorate over time with exposure to light and air, it said. To probe how to better control how quantum dots react to their environment, researchers exposed several types of commercially available quantum dots to aluminum oxide, it said. They found that aluminum oxide made the quantum dots glow brighter and that the effect was much more significant for quantum dots without protective shells, it said. They also found that while quantum dots with binary (two types of semiconductors) and ternary (three types) cores shrink after reacting with the oxygen in air, ternary core dots placed on aluminum oxide glowed brighter despite the shrinkage, it said. This observation surprised the researchers, they don’t yet have an explanation for the difference, and they're continuing to study it, it said.

Global smartphone shipments will approach 1.2 billion units this year, up 19 percent from 2013, Juniper Research said Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1wnNdGq). Growth in emerging markets on the “continued surge” in sales of “economy” and “ultra-economy” smartphones priced under $75 will drive much of the increase, it said. “While Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the ultra-premium end of the market, these vendors are facing significant pressure from local players in the emerging markets,” it said. “These new players are beginning to build market share and achieve larger economies of scale, which eventually will enable them to expand their offering and challenge other smartphone sectors in the future.” Still, Apple and Samsung will have nearly 45 percent of the smartphones shipped globally this year, it said.

Dish Network and Scripps Networks renewed a deal that expands Dish subscriber access to the programmer’s entire content portfolio. It includes over-the-top multistream rights for live and VOD content, Dish said Tuesday. It also expands Dish’s distribution of authenticated live and VOD Scripps programming on Internet-connected devices, it said. “With this capability, the content will be available to an untapped segment of customers that is seeking a flexible, content-driven, Internet-accessible service.”

Online distributor Bulbs.com launched a light control category that includes architectural and wireless controllers, plus complete systems, occupancy/vacancy sensors, switches and dimmers, it said. Dimmer controls can extend bulb life and boost energy savings, while light controls offer comfort and convenience, it said. Occupancy sensors can double the energy savings from dimmers, it said. Philips Hue and Lutron Caseta products are among the offerings.

CEDIA reported attendance of 18,500 at its Expo last week in Denver, which drew 480 exhibitors from 82 countries. Attendance was up 3 percent and exhibitor square footage expanded by 14 percent from a year earlier, CEDIA said. The show had 100 first-time exhibitors and 17 startups that exhibited in a section called “Rookie Row.” it said. CEDIA Expo 2015 will be at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas Oct. 13-17, more than a month later than the event’s customary run in mid-September.

Pioneer will spin off its DJ equipment business into a joint company, Pioneer DJ, of which it will own 15 percent, so it can better deploy its assets on vehicle infotainment and other car electronics sectors, the company said Tuesday. The global investment firm KKR will be the majority owner in Pioneer DJ after it pays Pioneer $551 million to acquire all shares in the spinoff and Pioneer then pays KKR an undisclosed sum to buy back 15 percent of the shares, Pioneer said. “As we accelerate our efforts to concentrate management resources on our car electronics business, Pioneer has been seeking the optimal partner to further the globalization of our DJ equipment business and expand the brand.” In KKR, Pioneer found a company with “a wealth of experience in the technology and media industry globally, and we are confident it has the expertise to drive Pioneer DJ forward,” it said. Pioneer wants to be a top “comprehensive infotainment” supplier that “creates comfort, excitement, safety and reliability in vehicles,” the company said. It aims to do so by becoming “an indispensable key supplier to automakers and their mega-suppliers, based on the expertise and customer confidence we have gained in the OEM market,” it said. In the consumer aftermarket, “we will drive the car electronics industry as a pioneer in providing new value in the connected car life market, by being the first company to provide and expand world-first, cutting-edge solutions,” it said.