HDTVs Among Most Popular Consumer Purchases

SCOTTSDALE: One quarter (25 percent) of U.S. consumers intend to purchase smartphones and HDTVs in the first half of this year, according to ABI Research’s Technology Barometer survey.

Of the survey respondents, 25 percent said they intend to purchase a smartphone during the first half of 2012, which is the same percentage that reported intentions to buy an HDTV. More respondents intend to buy Blu-ray players (17 percent) and game consoles (18 percent) than media tablets (16 percent).

“Mobile devices have clearly captured the attention of many consumers and companies within the content value chain, but consumer electronics devices like TVs, Blu-ray players, and game consoles remain at the heart of the digital living room,” said senior analyst Michael Inouye. “Connectivity continues to present new opportunities for all members within the value chain to enrich the user experience and mobile devices will increasingly be an additive part of the equation.”

“There will always be value in viewing content on the large screen, so we do not see these mobile applications as subtractive or competitive to the connected CE space,” continued Inouye. “Respondents, for instance, continue to favor connected CE devices for viewing Internet video content on the main screen over alternatives like smartphones or tablets. While connecting a mobile device to the TV screen or wirelessly mirroring the screen may be foreign to many consumers, this practice will occur more frequently as the market and consumer behavior evolves, but given the portable nature of these devices and social nature of TV viewing fixed devices will continue to have a strong role to play in the digital living room.”