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WE ARE A NATION-NAY, A WORLD-IN LOVE with electronic gadgets. And we're just gettihng started
During a break in the action at PC Forum '99, Mark Cuban, chairman and president of Broadcast.com, enthusiastically explained how he and his friends rigged his home PC to receivee HDTV broadcasts. While calling it his his favorite toy of the moment, he added, "What I really want is mobile wireless access to my PC in my car. That's like my nirvana right now."
This is what has to come to as we peer into the 21st century and wish for what will ultimately come true.
As Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (www .cemacity.org), states, "For all of our industry's impact, the future looms more monumentally than the present foundation of established success. Emerging technologies create possibilities that will result in new product categories, and along with them, plentifuk business oppurtunities. The 21st century will be known as the digital age, and he cornerstones for it are being laid right now in the consumer electronics industry."
Consumer electronics sales are projected to reach $79 billion this year, a 5 percent increase from 1998. In the incentive industry, consumer electronics is the top category in terms of dollar value redeemed as tracked by Bi Performance Services in Minneapolis (www.biperformance.com). "People have always been intrigued with the newest and the neatest electronics that make life simple or more entertaining," explains Sandy Schrock, Bl1s senior product manager. "What's hot at retail is mirrored within the incentive industry, and the electronics category changes much faster than other product categories, which makes it fun."
This product review is designed to help you stay abreast of some of the new entries in this blink-andyou'll-miss-it category. As Schrock will attest, it's a category with unlimited appeal and one that's devoid of demographic boundaries. We suspect the only thing more fun than reading about these gadgets is actually including them in your next promotion.
alphabet soup for the unenlightened
When not touting the virtues of DVD (digital versatile disc), consumer electronics trend-spotters love to discuss the emergence of HDTV (high definition television), the continued success of DSS (digital satellite systems) and the multiple uses of GPS (global positioning satellite) technology.
There's a gigabyte of...