On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

TV ownership drops in the US for the first time in 20 years, according to Nielsen-- 96.7% of American households own TV sets, down from 98.9% recorded previously.

Nielsen says there are 2 reasons-- the economic situation and advancing technology.

The "persistently rocky economy" is a reason Nielsen also cited back in 1992, the last time the percentage of homes with TVs declined. Some low-income households cannot afford to replace their analog sets with digital TVs and receivers.

Such households would probably not have any internet access, either.

The other non-TV owning Americans are the internet video viewers, who go without TVs or paying for cable services. Nielsen says these make part of a subset of "younger, urban consumers".

Is this the start of a larger shift towards online viewing, or will it rectify once the economy improves? Not even Nielsen is sure, for now, even if its data shows consumersview more video content across all platforms.

Go Ownership of TV Sets Falls in US (NY Times)

DisplaySearch reports the WW TV market grows by nearly 18% Y-o-Y in 2010, reaching 248m units, even if it expects market growth to hit a sharp decline in 2011-- to less than 4% Y-o-Y.

Flat panel TVs grow by 32% in 2010 on a unit basis, but should decline to 12% in 2011.

DisplaySearch says TV growth slows down in terrritories such as W. Europe, whose flat panel TV installed base reaches over 50-60%. Meanwhile emerging markets are still ripe for sustained growth as they still continue replacing their CRT TVs.

LCD TVs will account for 84% of all TV shipments in 2011, growing by 13% over 2010 to reach 217m units. 50% of LCD TV units shipped this year will carry LED backlights, alongside other performance-oriented features coming in sets of over 40" in size.

Plasma TVs see 30% Y-o-Y in 2010, up from 2009's 1.5%. DisplaySearch says such growth comes from value-conscious consumers, as wel as relatively slow ASP erosion.

Meanwhile 3D TV accounts for 10% of Q4 2010 WW TV revenues-- but should rise to over 50% of revenues and reach 100M units WW by 2014.

Emerging regions (including E. Europe, Middle East and Africa) will have the strongest flat panel TV growth over the next 4 years, which should average to around 17% Y-o-Y growth. In comparison, developed regions will see no growth over the same time period.

Go DisplaySearch Quarterly Advanced Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report

Sim2 says its Lumis 3D-S is the only consumer projector using triple flash technology alongside its active shutter 3D delivery system-- eliminating flicker and ghosting while providing smoother motion.

Triple flash is called so because it "flashes" each frame (per 24fps) 3 times, creating an overall framerate of 144fps.

The projector also carries 3-chip DLP technology, is optimised for both 2D and 3D content and comes in the attractive Lumis chassis (with vertical lens shift and an enchanced version of Live Colours Calibration software). 3 lens options are available, with a throw range of 1.37 - 3:9:1.

The package ships with XpanD glasses, and is compatible with other M-3DI cross-platform active-shutter glasses once models start hitting the market.

Go Sim2 Lumis 3D-S

With TomTom very much in the news for supplementing its income via selling road data so Dutch police could set better speed traps for motorists, we thought it is time to explore the direction of the GPS industry....

Like the mythical Icarus, one day the Portable Navigation Device (PND) industry sprouted wings and took to flying high...My most vivid recollection is on stage at an industry panel I was moderating, listening to Greg Spierkel, the CEO of Ingram Micro, explain to the audience about this exciting category of product that grew 70% in year-to-year sales...