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Getting the Most Gadget for Your Money

People depend on=E2=80=94and buy=E2=80=94technology, = even when times are=20 tough

By David=20 LaGesse

Posted November 7, 2008

The holidays won't be as merry this year for retailers. Shoppers are = cutting=20 their spending as they face some of the grimmest economic news in = decades.=20 Wallets snapped shut in the third quarter, with consumer spending down = for the=20 first time in 17 years. That trend is expected to accelerate in the = fourth=20 quarter.

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One spot that's brighter: consumer electronics. Despite dire times, = buyers=20 still flock to the flashing, zapping, and whirring aisles of flat-panel = TVs,=20 video games, and notebook computers. The electronics industry continues = to=20 seduce shoppers with must-have products, says Stephen Baker, a market = analyst=20 with NPD Group. "Electronics are a little sexier, a little more = interesting than=20 other things=E2=80=94like shirts or ties."

Consumers are expected to spend about 4 percent more on gadgets and = gizmos=20 this year than they did last year, according to projections from the = Consumer=20 Electronics Association, which has a vested interest, and TNS Retail = Forward,=20 which doesn't. Overall retail spending, meanwhile, is expected to be the = weakest=20 since 1991, TNS says.

In short, consumers are spending more of their money on technology = this year.=20 That's unlike earlier recessions, when shoppers spent less of their=20 discretionary income on electronic gear, says Shawn DuBravac, an = economist at=20 the electronics association. "Consumers now view [electronics] as a = necessity=20 rather than a luxury."

That may overstate the case. That 4 percent increase is still slower = growth=20 than has been seen in recent years, and frugal shoppers will look harder = for=20 bargains. Retailers need to offer deals early and often, says Ben = Bajarin, a=20 market analyst with Creative Strategies. It won't be enough to stoke = sales just=20 on the day after Thanksgiving, when stores often feature their best = prices on=20 electronics to draw shoppers. "We're talking Black Friday-types of = prices=20 throughout the season," Bajarin says.

Shoppers will focus on models that offer the most for the money. The = biggest=20 flat-panel TVs won't do as well as smaller models that cost less per = inch and=20 retail for under $1,000. Solid digital cameras, rather than costlier = models with=20 cutting-edge features, will appeal to the masses. "People will choose = lower-spec=20 PCs that are cheaper," says Roger Kay, who tracks electronics at = Endpoint=20 Technologies Associates.

So it is with the thrifty shopper in mind that U.S. = News=20 has assembled this year's tech-buying guide. Not all the devices are = cheap,=20 though some that aren't might save money over the long run. All, we = think, offer=20 a good deal and even some sex appeal.

Tags: personal=20 finance | s= hopping=20 | technology=20 | consumer=20 behavior

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Getting the Most Gadget for Your Money

People depend on=E2=80=94and buy=E2=80=94technology, = even when times are=20 tough

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