Over the past few years, the global consumer electronics industry has witnessed a phenomenal growth. It can be attributed to the increasing effect of state of the art electronic devices in the market. The Asia Pacific region is the market leader in consumer electronics and more of this credit goes to the Japanese companies, which are known worldwide for their innovations and quality. The world famous brands like Sony, Panasonic and Matsushita are owned by the Japanese companies.

The total revenue generated by the consumer electronics market consists the sale of audio, video, and games console products. The video section consists of camcorders, digital cameras, CRT and flat-panel television sets, videocassette and DVD players and recorders, and set-top boxes. The audio section includes MP3 recorders and players, personal stereos, radios, hi-fi systems, cassettes, CDs, and minidisc. Gaming consoles includes all hand-held and plug-in consoles.

In a survey, conducted by the Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the consumer electronics market is estimated to grow to 11 trillion yen by 2010. It is more than quadruple the value of 2004. One of the main highlights of this survey is an emphasis on the convergence of communication and entertainment electronics. This trend is already spreading rapidly, the government views this as a major shift in the consumer electronics industry.

The MIC defines the consumer electronics market to include the following areas:

* Appliance market: Digital consumer electronics like TV, washing machine, PC, modems, etc.

* Service content market: Content like entertainment information on movies, drama, etc. Services like distance learning (tele-education), security services, etc.

* Network platform market: Networks, including ADSL, cable Internet, fiber-optic cables, etc.

Future Prospects

The consumer electronics industry is expecting the integration of entertainment and communication electronics in coming years. The companies aim at providing advanced services to help consumers achieve more convenience in their daily activities. It can be achieved by offering networking consumer electronics in the home market.

The home security systems is expected to enter in the consumer electronics market. It can help monitor fires or break-ins and report them to nearby fire stations. Consumers could be able to control appliances in home from their personal digital assistant (PDA) or mobile phones. While departing the home, you can turn on the security system while turning off all consumer electronics. On the way back to home from work, a person would be able to start a bath or begin warming up the house.

By Robert Smith

John Smith: John, a former software engineer, shares his insights on software development, programming languages, and coding best practices.