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Predictions

by Carlo Longino

Tue, Aug 23rd 2005 4:50pm





Do People Have Enough Gadgets?

from the you-need-some-$100-cables dept

A new report says consumer electronics sales will dip next year, with half of US and Canadian households saying they've got all the gadgets they want, alongside falling unit prices being driven by discount retailers online and off. High-definition TVs are the next product tagged for torrid growth, though their prices are "in a free fall" as well. It sounds like people are just deciding they've got enough stuff, and the desire to constantly upgrade gadgets to get more megapixels or megabytes isn't as strong as electronics companies would like. The report also says that traditional retailers are losing out to Web stores, which is no surprise given their general price superiority, or maybe they're just tired of getting a used-car experience when they go shopping.

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  1.  
    identicon
    DGK12, Aug 23rd, 2005 @ 5:34pm

    Bells and Whistles

    Maybe people just don't have the money... or perhaps they don't want another camera or printer. My scanner can support more dpi. than my computer is capable of processing at 2.54ghz with 512MB of ram. No one needs 10Megapixles, and a smaller Game Boy SP is just a lame excuse to sell the same product to the same people twice.
    I stopped purchasing "fan" products when I realised (in my youth) that they've got more lined up for you, and even more you'll never know about.
    If they can come up with something new, or something useful they might find an audience. Stop sticking with "what works" when it stops working. Grow up, take aim! Take a risk or two and invent something new. People are sick of hand-me-downs and regurgitated products.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    Pete Austin, Aug 24th, 2005 @ 1:52am

    This is about Price, not Unit Sales

    The prices of computers, televisions, cameras etc. keep falling quite quickly, so it's not a surprise for the total *VALUE* of these sales to fall (as the report predicts). This doesn't necessarily mean that gadgets are less popular.

    Stores keep needing new categories of must-have electronic device to boost overall sales. Maybe the latest will be flat-screen HDTV when these become more affordable, or maybe something completely unexpected. Personally I want an "iGoogle" which works like an "iPod" so I can check things when I'm away from a computer, because half my memory is on the Internet these days.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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