Skip to main content

Which Gadgets Are Selling: For Some Technology, Analysts Say, It’s Buyer Beware

Hot Cold Products

What’s hot? What’s not? And what was the last gadget you actually bought? It’s quite the challenge to keep pace with technology’s latest and greatest trends, especially with disposable income tighter than ever for so many. Which made us wonder: Despite all the flashy ads and splashy headlines, which types of consumer electronics are actually selling? According to the top technology insiders we spoke with, the results may shock. Planning on buying a new PC or iPod this year? Surprise: Here’s why you might just be the odd man out…

HDTVs Still Topping Buyers’ Wish Lists

Top tech experts and leading retailers confirm it: High-definition television (HDTV) sets are by far the most popular item on holiday wish lists this year, and should continue to remain a must-have purchase throughout 2010.

Small wonder, considering the category’s popularity as a whole, as over 99% of US households own a boob tube of one sort or another (2.7 of them on average) according to a report by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). In fact, CEA’s chief economist, Shawn DuBravac, says that any category of technology would love to be as successful as the television, which enjoys continued mainstream popularity for several reasons – none of the least of which is a huge array of supporting accessories. Actual quality of programming aside, compatible add-ons such as Blu-ray players, video game systems, DVRs and a diverse array of complementary technologies from media streaming to built-in Internet features continue to keep these units top of mind, and constantly in demand.

Samsung UN46B8000Chris Rivera, sales analyst and home theater department manager for Best Buy, points to models like Samsung’s new LED HDTVs as a prime example, saying that the sets have been selling like crazy. “The price of televisions has gone down and their quality has gone up,” he explains, citing shrinking form factors, plummeting costs and continued innovation as key drivers for the category’s continued success.

In conjunction with HDTVs’ omnipresent best-selling status, Rivera further says that accessories for television sets are also often top sellers as well. Blu-ray player purchases have doubled in the past year, he reveals, adding that Best Buy has had trouble keeping Samsung and LG Netflix-streaming models on its shelves. Ultimately, Rivera attributes such devices’ popularity to their convenience, because now, not only do you not have to get in your car and drive to Blockbuster to enjoy Hollywood’s latest films, you don’t even have to get up to go to the mailbox to enjoy movie rentals.

Shoppers Keeping Smartphones on Speed Dial

Fact: All smartphones are popular. But some really know how to make a first impression, to the tune of millions of ringing cash registers.

HTC HeroCase in point: The HTC Hero (featuring Google’s Android operating system), which sold out at almost every Best Buy store the day it arrived. Other top smartphone sellers include the Palm Pre, Apple iPhone and the BlackBerry Tour and BlackBerry Bold according to the retail giant. But although the numbers are close and fluctuate from week to week, says Rivera, the iPhone is still the clear winner, which could be attributed to the mobile handset’s vast array of downloadable app options and high-profile marketing. In an interesting side note, DuBravac says that the CEA tries to organize its surveys by general categories, not by brands. However, so many consumers wrote in Apple’s hardware as an answer that the iPhone and iPod were awarded their own grouping – a testament to these devices’ overwhelming popularity.

Unfortunately for Apple, most industry analysts say that the iPhone’s popularity badge might get pinned on another smartphone soon. Per a report by market research firm Gartner, Google’s Android operating system could take the iPhone down a notch in the next few years. If people bought the iPhone for the device’s options and abilities, says Gartner, then consumers will definitely invest in Android smartphones, with these handsets’ application store and development environment backed by the power of Google’s search engine, giving users endless options and computing abilities.

Netbook and Notebook PCs Prove Popular Bargains

Michael Amkreutz, vice president of product management at Newegg.com, says his company has seen “explosive growth” in the area of portable electronics recently, especially in the area of netbooks. Amkreutz accredits the recent price adjustments [mostly price lowering] of netbook and notebook PCs for this boom, with ultra-portable mini computers outselling notebooks by a large margin due to their lower price point and convenience factor. Still, no matter which brand you choose – Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. – Best Buy and Newegg both say that laptops, especially netbooks, are always top sales contenders, expecting a major spike in revenues as the holiday gift-giving season commences.

asus-eee-pcWhich, of course, explains the category’s explosive growth: Whereas a couple months ago Best Buy only had three or four netbooks options available, its stores now carry models from every hardware manufacturer under the sun. According to Rivera, the netbooks that usually walk out the door with a customer are the ones most willing to compete on pure economics, like HP’s 10-inch models for $299.99 and the Asus Eee PC for $249.99. Even so, more expensive options can still do well thanks to their relatively low asking fee too: The Dell Mini has been coming in as a close second with a slightly higher price tag of $399.99.

Holiday Gadget and Consumer Electronics Shopping Trends

Consumers always tend to give and get new products throughout the holiday season, with many types of gadgets easily notching up 40-50% of annual sales during the year’s last three months. So what’s the prediction in terms of items that will be top performers this year? Retailers’ anticipate success for a wide range of products new and old, although those likeliest to move will be items with more competitive pricing.

psp-goNewegg and Best Buy are both expecting heightened sales in the three categories mentioned above, as well as for a few other specific name-brand products. Newegg says it is anticipating several major holiday bestsellers on its website, specifically Sony’s PSP Go handheld gaming system and all Apple products and related accessories. Amkreutz says the average online shopper tends to purchase portable items from the Web, so Apple’s iPods, iPod cases, docks and iPhone will be a big hit. And the PSP Go is one of the portable devices people are integrating into their daily life, he suggests, making it more likely to sell in bulk.

Similarly, Best Buy also predicts heightened sales for Apple products, most notably any type of iPod. But the electronics retailer is also hoping for a rise in PlayStation 3 sales since prices recently dropped on the set-top video game console to a decent $299.99.

sandisk-sansa-clipTechnology and Gadgets That Won’t Sell in 2009

Every type of tech enjoys its time in the limelight, but unfortunately for certain devices, insiders say success just isn’t meant to be in 2009. For instance, although new generations of the iPod are expected to do well this holiday season, they are currently being overshadowed by smaller MP3 players with a lower price point. In fact, Rivera says that Best Buy’s iPod sales haven’t been as strong as expected because people are buying cheaper MP3 players like the SanDisk Sansa Clip for $50 and Samsung’s U5 MP3 player for $40 instead. Rivera attributes declining sales performance to the smartphone phenomenon as well—more people are storing music on their high-priced mobile phones and aren’t willing to shell out even more precious cash for an iPod or Zune.

In addition, it’s insinuated that the one place where iPods and MP3 players are excelling is where a few other genres of tech are falling woefully short. CEA’s director of industry analysis Steve Koenig says that any gadget that does not have mobile capabilities did not do as well in 2009, naming desktop computers as the number one victim of 2009’s tech downfalls. The numbers speak for themselves, as desktops amounted to a measly 33% of total PC shipments in 2009, whereas in 2006 desktops shipments were at 54%, roughly even with notebooks. Koenig says that the world is becoming more mobile, making netbooks and notebooks much stronger sales candidates in 2009.

Similarly, Koenig names car audio equipment as being the number two contender for 2009’s epic sales failures. “In the automotive technology space, portable electronics like iPods, MP3 players and GPS systems are more popular than installable car stereos,” he says. Koenig notes that automakers are now designing cars that have built-in amplifiers and portable media outlets so even top-notch car stereo systems are not selling to boot. He also mentions that anything analogue is having a tough time in any market. “Even great technology is not selling if it’s not digital or mobile,” he concludes.

These hiccups aside though, the consumer love affair with portable devices and new HDTV models is a relationship expected to progress well into the coming calendar year, when new tech trends will also manifest. So for now at least retail-wise, in a few categories, it’s relatively smooth sailing, while others are starting to perilously founder and sink given their inability to compete on this year’s most important selling points: Price and convenience.

Dena Cassella
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Haole built. O'ahu grown
Why AI will never rule the world
image depicting AI, with neurons branching out from humanoid head

Call it the Skynet hypothesis, Artificial General Intelligence, or the advent of the Singularity -- for years, AI experts and non-experts alike have fretted (and, for a small group, celebrated) the idea that artificial intelligence may one day become smarter than humans.

According to the theory, advances in AI -- specifically of the machine learning type that's able to take on new information and rewrite its code accordingly -- will eventually catch up with the wetware of the biological brain. In this interpretation of events, every AI advance from Jeopardy-winning IBM machines to the massive AI language model GPT-3 is taking humanity one step closer to an existential threat. We're literally building our soon-to-be-sentient successors.

Read more
The best hurricane trackers for Android and iOS in 2022
Truck caught in gale force winds.

Hurricane season strikes fear into the hearts of those who live in its direct path, as well as distanced loved ones who worry for their safety. If you've ever sat up all night in a state of panic for a family member caught home alone in the middle of a destructive storm, dependent only on intermittent live TV reports for updates, a hurricane tracker app is a must-have tool. There are plenty of hurricane trackers that can help you prepare for these perilous events, monitor their progress while underway, and assist in recovery. We've gathered the best apps for following storms, predicting storm paths, and delivering on-the-ground advice for shelter and emergency services. Most are free to download and are ad-supported. Premium versions remove ads and add additional features.

You may lose power during a storm, so consider purchasing a portable power source,  just in case. We have a few handy suggestions for some of the best portable generators and power stations available. 

Read more
Don’t buy the Meta Quest Pro for gaming. It’s a metaverse headset first
Meta Quest Pro enables 3D modeling in mixed reality.

Last week’s Meta Connect started off promising on the gaming front. Viewers got release dates for Iron Man VR, an upcoming Quest game that was previously a PS VR exclusive, as well as Among Us VR. Meta, which owns Facebook, also announced that it was acquiring three major VR game studios -- Armature Studio, Camouflaj Team, and Twisted Pixel -- although we don’t know what they’re working on just yet.

Unfortunately, that’s where the Meta Connect's gaming section mostly ended. Besides tiny glimpses and a look into fitness, video games were not the show's focus. Instead, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wanted to focus on what seemed to be his company’s real vision of VR's future, which involves a lot of legs and a lot of work with the Quest Pro, a mixed reality headset that'll cost a whopping $1,500.

Read more