Consumer electronics
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Consumer electronics include electronic equipment intended for everyday use. Consumer electronics are most often used in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Some products classed as consumer electronics include personal computers, telephones, MP3 players, audio equipment, televisions, calculators, GPS automotive navigation systems and playback and recording of video media such as DVDs, VHSs or camcorders. The global consumer electronics industry is dominated by American, Japanese and Korean companies. Popular brands include Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, LG, Apple and others.
The CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) estimates 2007 Consumer Electronics sales at 150 billion dollars.[1]
Consumer electronics are manufactured throughout the world, although there is a particularly high concentration of manufacturing activity in Japan and South Korea. The latest consumer electronics are previewed yearly at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, at which many industry pioneers speak.
One overriding characteristic of all consumer electronic products is the trend of ever-falling prices. This is driven by gains in manufacturing efficiency and automation, lower labor costs as manufacturing has moved to lower-wage countries, and improvements in semiconductor design. Semiconductor components benefit from Moore's Law, an observed principle which states that, for a given price, semiconductor functionality doubles every 18 months.
While consumer electronics continues in its trend of convergence, combining elements of many consumer electronic items, the consumer faces different decisions when purchasing their items. There is an ever increasing need to keep the product information updated and most comparable, for the consumer to be able to make an informed buying decision. The variables are becoming more about 'style and price' rather than 'specification and performance'. This convergence of technologies promises a shrinking of choice of retailer to the consumer and the rise of manufacturer status within the home. There is a gradual shift towards e-commerce web-storefronts.
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[edit] Environment
Many consumer electronics have planned obsolescence, resulting in E-waste. It is estimated that during 2003 the US alone generated over 2.8 million tons of electronic waste. Less than 10% of that amount was recovered (reused or recycled).
Standby power used by consumer electronics and appliance while they are turned off accounts for 5 to 10% of household energy consumption, adding an estimated $3 billion to annual energy costs in the USA. "In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off."[2]
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