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To: Stoctrash who wrote (34337)	7/16/1998 3:13:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

New report says consumers want DVDs and DTVs........................ biz.yahoo.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday July 16, 9:12 am Eastern Time Company Press Release SOURCE: IDC New IDC Survey Reveals Strong Consumer Interest In DVD Players and Digital Televisions, But Modest Response to Internet Screen Phones and Handhelds Survey Unveils Significant Opportunities for Vendors to Tap Home-Network Market FRAMINGHAM, Mass., July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Among the many new types of digital consumer electronics products introduced in late 1997 and early 1998, DVD players and PC/TV combinations have captured the highest consumer awareness, although consumers indicated that they were most interested in purchasing digital televisions (HDTVs), DVD players, and NetTVs within the next twelve months, according to a new survey report published by International Data Corporation (IDC). By contrast, consumers were much less aware or ready to purchase products such as Internet smart handheld devices, Internet screen phones, and on-line gaming consoles. NetTVs fell squarely in the middle of the range of market awareness and intent to purchase, with 26 percent of U.S. households stating they are familiar with the concept and seven percent stating they were likely to purchase one in the next 12 months. Vendors are beginning to lose track of which products, if any, consumers really want. ''Each product has its own merits, but consumers only have a limited budget,'' said Sean Kaldor, vice president, IDC's Consumer Devices research. ''Thus far, the results are most favorable for TV-centric technologies, which is very good news for TCI, Microsoft's WebTV Networks, and NCI, among others.'' But mass awareness and acceptance are not necessarily required for products to be successful. Internet screen phones and Internet smart handheld devices are shipping well over a million units per year. ''It is better to have a good product that is known and understood by a valued niche than a marginal product that is known by everyone as such,'' said Kaldor. Significant Vendor Opportunities This new study -- which examines cross-product consumer awareness, interest, and the intent to purchase old and new types of digital consumer electronics products - also revealed there is a significant and growing number of multiple device households. With over 54 percent of homes running 3+ televisions, and with more than 12 percent running 2+ PCs, IDC believes there is a tremendous opportunity to provide home networking solutions if vendors can pick the right combination of performance, features, and ease-of-use. This survey of 1,661 U.S. households is based upon the IDC/LINK and ACNielsen Homescan Panel conducted in April and May 1998. Additional key findings include the following: Accessing the Internet is a daily event for over 12 percent of U.S. households; Although only 21 percent of homes have on-line services, over 43 percent report that e-mail is used regularly by household members at home, at work, and/or at school; Of homes with TVs (99.7 percent of all homes) nearly one-third (30 percent) do not subscribe to cable TV indicating a limit in the market for vendors seeking to provide enhanced Internet-based services to cable-connected homes.