Canalys forecasts 2014 global smartwatch shipments will exceed 5 million units, after shipments reach 330000 units in 2012 and 500000 in 2013 thanks to devices such as the Kickstarter-backed Pebble.

This is a more conservative forecast the April 2013 ABI Research report stating shipments are to reach 1.2m units in 2013 alone.

However both sets of predictions depend on the confirmation of a particular set of rumours-- namely Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, LG and Dell releasing the next smartwatch generation. So far only Samsung confirmed its wearable ambitions, no doubt one or two other companies will dabble in the potentially lucrative field.

"Smartwatches will be the most important new product category in consumer electronics since the iPad defined the market for tablets," Canalys says. "Software platforms tied to smart watches will also be a tremendous opportunity for developers to write apps in categories such as health and wellness or sports and fitness."

According to IHS iSuppli the variety of smartphones available to customers contributes to a market boom-- with shipments forecast to grow from 7.12 million units in 2012 to 1.5 billion in 2017.

Shipments are set to reach 8.97m units in 2013, while the CAGR for the 2012-2017 period will total to 15.8%. According to the analyst smartphone shipments should reach 1.1bn units in 2014, 1.2bn in 2015 and 1.4bn in 2016.

“The volume of new flagship smartphone releases from top OEMs this year has been astounding,” IHS says. “These include the BlackBerry Z10, the aluminium unibody HTC One, and an update to the Samsung Galaxy S4 featuring a Full HD 5-inch AMOLED display.”

According to Strategy Analytics early adopters give the thumbs-down to smart TVs as users appear to prefer getting their connected entertainment fix through the use of smartphones, tablets and other connected devices.

The study covers 8 advanced user households, with half of the sample having acquired a smart TV over the past 3 years.

"The smart TV is limited in apps and doesn't allow you to easily search," one survey participant says. "I had a battle between the Playstation 3 and the smart TV in which one to use, and the PS3 won."

Meanwhile the early adopter sample lacking a smart TV expresses concern over whether smart TVs are ready to deliver an adequate experience-- and decide to stick to other connected devices, at least for the time being.

Gartner forecasts double digit declines of -10.6% for global 2013 PC (desktop and notebook) shipments, even as the overall "devices" market (covering PCs, tablets and mobiles) should reach shipments of 2.35 billion units with 5.9% growth.

Such a decline reflects not only shifting customer demands but also adjustments in the channel making room for H2 2013 product launches.

According to the analyst PC shipments will total 305 million units in 2013. The decline is offset somewhat to -7.3% if one counts ultramobile PCs-- bringing some good news to the thin, lightweight notebooks of the Chromebook or Ultrabook variety.

Ultramobile PC demand comes from upgrades over both regular notebooks and premium tablets (such as the iPad or Galaxy Tab 10.1) and should be even more evident come Q4 2013, once Bay Trail- and Haswell-based Windows 8.1 models hit the shelves.