HDTVs and Blu-ray Players Top US Consumers’ Wish-Lists, According to Technology Barometer Survey

ABI Research has released the first part of its “Technology Barometer: Connected Home & Computing,” which surveyed 2024 consumers in the United States about the consumer electronic products in their households (device types and numbers), home networking, and purchase intent (device type, brand, and features critical to the purchase decision).

Among the significant top-line results, some 24% of the respondents indicated that their highest-priority purchases over the next six months would likely be of HDTVs (24%) and Blu-ray players (17%). About 60% of the households surveyed said they already have one HDTV.

According to senior analyst Michael Inouye, “As consumers replace older TVs, there really isn't much choice now but to buy an HDTV, so even if the consumer doesn't necessarily want to view HDTV content, that’s usually what they end up with. Prices for HDTVs have fallen quite a bit, and many households are now replacing their second- and third-string televisions.”

Video game consoles rated at the top of the wish-list for 16%. 46% of those surveyed said they had no major purchase intentions for the next six months.

In terms of "critical/very important" factors in planned purchases, price was either the most cited or second-most for most devices. For digital cameras, it was third (zoom range and megapixels were the top two in that category); for portable video game devices screen size and controls were the most critical factors, followed by price.

Price was also a lesser consideration in laptops, exceeded by processor speed, memory, storage capacity, and operating system. And perhaps counter to conventional assumptions, the survey showed that for media tablets price ranked only seventh in importance. Practice director Jason Blackwell adds, “One surprising result in regard to media tablets was that Windows came in second after Apple, and ahead of Android. That probably has more to do with brand awareness than anything else, but it does give some hope to Microsoft.”

ABI Research’s “Technology Barometer: Connected Home & Computing - 1Q 2011 US Survey Results” is part of the first installment of ABI Research’s Technology Barometer which surveys respondents biannually in seven countries: US, China, India, South Korea, France, Germany, and the UK.

It is part of the Technology Barometer Research Service.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 30+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.​