Amped Up On Accessories
What’s Going On: Sales of consumer electronics accessories are booming this year, according to research from the Consumer Elec- tronics Association. A recent report projects a slight increase of $13 million in this category, boosting it to $8.5 billion this year, pumped up by the popularity of tablet and smartphone accessories, head- phones, and ear buds. How It Can Affect You: Consumers surveyed said quality is the
most important factor when choosing accessories, but need and brand name also influenced their decisions. The report revealed that 50 per- cent of consumers buy an accessory at the same time they purchase the CE device for which it’s intended. Good news for brick-and-mortar establishments—the majority of online consumers surveyed (66 per- cent) said physical stores were the main way they learned about and purchased accessories, naming convenience as the primary reason.
Kids Are People Too What’s Going On: A potentially lucrative demo-
graphic for the mobile electronics industry is the youth market and more manufacturers are targeting children then ever before. Sprint rolled out its first phone for kids, the WeGo, for those between the ages of 5 to 12. The phone joins a growing list of similar products including GPS locator watches and tablets specifically designed for the younger set. Leapfrog introduced its LeapBand wearable activity tracker and Techno Source and KD Interactive, makers of the Kurio line of Android tablets, have rolled out their first smartphone.
Branson Brings It How It Can Affect You: This represents a category
that many retailers previously overlooked but it could draw in new customers and build loyalty with the youngest consumers in the marketplace. A growing number of companies are aggressively marketing elec- tronics to younger children with colorful kid-friendly designs, easy-to-use features, and the capability for parental controls. Beyond young children, opportuni- ties exist with teenagers as they represent the fastest growing segment of smartphone users in the country.
What’s Going On: Billionaire Richard Branson hopes to make his dream of space travel a reality for consumers with his Virgin Galac- tic rocket that could be ready as soon as September of this year. Here on earth, however, Branson has teamed up with Land Rover for the Discovery Vision Concept vehicle, which made its debut at the New York International Auto Show last April. The partnership means Land Rover vehicles become part of the day-to-day exercise with the Virgin Galactic team. Land Rover will base a fleet of vehicles at the Virgin Galactic test center in the California’s Mojave Desert, and at its opera- tional New Mexico base, Spaceport America. How It Can Affect You: Planes, trains, and automobiles are cer- tainly the standard right now, but new ways of travel continue to appear on the horizon from driverless cars to, someday, spacecraft. The Dis- covery Vision Concept, which is being hailed as the ultimate SUV of the future, builds on Land Rover’s all-terrain capability and uses augmented reality technology offering a “see-through” view of the road ahead. Ges- ture Control lets users open the doors and even operate headlamps by simply waving a hand. While much of this may just be experimental and a long way from mainstream consumers ever getting on board, it is an example of how concept technologies are advancing rapidly. Some of these concepts will likely be adapted for near-future vehicles.
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