Flat TVs To Be Hot

Consumers of the future say they expect to buy flat-panel television sets before Internet-related devices like MP3 players, a study has found. Strategy Analytics interviewed a group of 140 students at San Diego State University late last year and allotted each $1,500 to spend in a virtual mall on various new-technology products and concepts, said researcher Nick Griffiths. Thirty-four percent said they'd buy a flat-panel, wall-hanging TV, a higher rate than that of most Net-based gadgets. And guess why. ""By far and away,"" Griffiths told Newsbytes, ""the greatest emphasis among all respondents was attractiveness and space-saving."" The 140 students looked at the flat TV as a fashion statement. ""People regard them as cool,"" he said. Thirty-nine percent said they'd buy less-costly smartphones, 14 percent would get MP3 players and 13 percent put Web-capable TVs in their future buying plans. ""It was quite surprising,"" Griffiths said, ""particularly since it was conducted in California."" The study involved separate, two-hour interviews with 140 students from all types of backgrounds to represent next-generation consumers, aiming to identify attitudes and motivations towards emerging technologies and services. Then they ""spent"" the imaginary $1,500 based on a flat TV price of $1,000, Web-capable devices at $300 and MP3 players at $250, Griffiths said. They chose to spend 24 percent of their money on flat TVs compared to 11 percent on recordable DVD, 11 percent on smartphones and only two percent on MP3 players. The latter showing is in stark contrast to a recent Internet phenomenon showing that ""MP3"" surpassed ""sex"" as the most-searched for term in search engines.