Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) devices intended for everyday use, usually in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment (flat-screen TVs, DVD players, video games, remote control cars, etc.), communications (phones, cell phones, e-mail enabled laptops, etc.), and home-office activities e.g. desktop computers, printers, paper shredders, etc.). In English English, they are often called brown stuff by producers and sellers, to distinguish them from "white goods" intended for household tasks, such as washing machines and refrigerators. In the 2010s, this distinction is not always present in large box big electronic stores, such as Best Buy, which sell entertainment, communications, and home office appliances and kitchen appliances such as refrigerators.
Radio broadcasts in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer products, broadcast receivers. Later products include telephones, televisions and calculators, then audio and video recorders and players, game consoles, personal computers and MP3 players. In the 2010s, consumer electronics stores often sell GPS, automotive electronics (car stereos), video game consoles, electronic instruments (eg, keyboard synthesizers), karaoke machines, digital cameras, and video players (VCRs in the 1980s and 1990s, followed by DVD players and Blu-ray disc players). The store also sells digital cameras, camcorders, mobile phones, and smartphones. Starting in 2016, some new products sold include virtual reality goggles mounted on virtual reality heads, smart home devices that connect home devices to the Internet (such as smart phone-controlled thermostats and lights) and wearable technologies such as Fitbit digital watches.
In the 2010s, most consumer electronics have become digital technology-based, and most have joined the increasingly recognizable computer industry as the information technology consumerism. Some consumer electronics stores, such as Best Buy, also started selling office and baby furniture. Consumer electronics stores may be physical retail stores "bricks and mortar", online stores, where consumers choose goods on websites and pay online (eg, Amazon). or a combination of both models (eg, Best Buy has a brick and mortar store and e-commerce website to order its products). The CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) estimates that consumer electronics sales in 2015 will reach US $ 220 billion.
Video Consumer electronics
History
During the first fifty years, phonograph turntables do not use electronics; needles and soundhorn are pure mechanical technology. However, in 1920 radio broadcasting became the basis of mass production of radio receivers. The vacuum tube that makes the radio practical is used with the recording player as well, to amplify the sound so that it can be played through loudspeakers. Television was soon discovered, but remained insignificant in the consumer market until the 1950s. Transistors, invented in 1947 by Bell Laboratories, led to significant research in the field of solid-state semiconductors in the early 1950s. The transistor's advantage revolutionized the industry along with other electronics. In 1959 Fairchild Semiconductor has introduced the first planar transistor from which came the origins of Moore's law. Integrated circuits follow when manufacturers build circuits (usually for military purposes) on a single substrate using electrical connections between circuits within the chip itself. Bell's discovery of transistors and semiconductor development led to much better and cheaper consumer electronics, such as transistor radios, televisions, and the 1980s, affordable video game consoles and personal computers that ordinary middle-class families could buy.
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Maps Consumer electronics
Products
Major consumer electronics products include radio receivers, television sets, MP3 players, video recorders, DVD players, digital cameras, camcorders, personal computers, video game consoles, telephones and cell phones. The more these products have become based on digital technology, and most have joined the computer industry in what is increasingly referred to as the information technology consumerism as found by Apple Inc. and MIT Media Lab.
Trends
One of the main characteristics of consumer electronics products is the continuously falling price trend. This is driven by gains in manufacturing efficiency and automation, lower labor costs because manufacturing has moved to countries with low wages, and improvements in semiconductor design. The semiconductor component benefits from Moore's law, an observed principle which states that, for a certain price, semiconductor function doubles every two years.
While consumer electronics continue in a convergence trend, combining elements of many products, consumers face different decisions when buying. There is an ever-increasing need to keep product information updated and comparable, so consumers can make informed choices. Style, price, specification, and performance are all relevant. There is a gradual shift towards web-store e-commerce web.
Many products include Internet connectivity using technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EDGE or Ethernet. Products not traditionally associated with computer use (such as TV or Hi-Fi equipment) now provide the option to connect to the Internet or to a computer using a home network to provide access to digital content. The desire for high-definition (HD) content has prompted the industry to develop a number of technologies, such as WirelessHD or ITU-T G.hn, which are optimized for HD content distribution between home consumer electronics devices.
Manufacturing
Most consumer electronics are built in China, due to maintenance costs, material availability, quality, and speed compared to other countries such as the United States. Cities like Shenzhen have become important production centers for the industry, attracting many consumer electronics companies such as Apple Inc.
Electronic components
Electronic components are basic discrete devices or physical entities in electronic systems used to influence electrons or related fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a single form and should not be confused with electrical elements, which are conceptual abstractions that represent idealized electronic components.
Software development
Consumer electronics such as personal computers use different types of software. Embedded software is used in some electronic devices, such as cell phones. This type of software can be embedded in electronic device hardware. Some consumer electronics include software used on personal computers along with electronic devices, such as camcorders and digital cameras, and third party software for such devices also exist.
Standardization
Some consumer electronics adhere to protocols, such as the connection protocol "to high-speed bi-directional signals". In telecommunications, the communication protocol is a digital rule system for data exchange within or between computers.
Trade Shows
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) trade show is held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada since its inception in 1973. The event grew from 100 exhibitors in its inaugural year to more than 3,600 participants in the 2014 edition, featuring new consumer electronics and speeches by pioneers industry.
IEEE Initiative
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the largest professional community in the world, has many initiatives to advance the art of cutting-edge consumer electronics. IEEE has a special community of thousands of professionals to promote CE, called the Consumer Electronics Society (CESoc). IEEE has several regular and international conferences to promote CE and encourages collaborative research and development in CE. The flagship CESoc conference, called the IEEE International Conference at Consumer Electronics (ICCE), is in its 35th year.
- IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics
- IEEE Consumer Electronics magazine
- IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE)
Meritel
Electronic retail is an important part of the retail industry in many countries. In the United States, big-box store retailers include Best Buy and Sears, with Best Buy being the largest consumer electronics retailer in the country. Broad-based retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Target, also sell consumer electronics in many of their stores. In April 2014, retail e-commerce sales were the highest in the category of consumer electronics and computers as well. Some consumer electronics retailers offer additional warranty on products with programs such as SquareTrade .
An electronic district is a trading area with a density of retail stores selling consumer electronics.
Industry
The electronics industry, especially consumer electronics, emerged in the 20th century and has now become a multibillion-dollar global industry. Contemporary society uses all types of electronic devices built in industrial or auto-operated automatic or semiautomatic plants.
Mobile phone industry
By country
Service and repair
Consumer electronics services may refer to the maintenance of such products. When consumer electronics malfunctions, they can sometimes be fixed.
In 2013 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the increasing popularity in listening to the sounds of analog audio devices, such as record players, as opposed to digital sound, has sparked a real increase in business for the electronics repair industry there.
Environmental impact
Energy consumption
Consumer electronic energy consumption and their environmental impact, either from their production processes or the disposal of devices, continue to increase. EIA estimates that electronic devices and gadgets account for about 10% -15% of energy usage in American homes - in large part because of their numbers; average homes have dozens of electronic devices. Consumer electronics energy consumption is increasing - in the Americas and Europe - up to about 50% of household consumption, if the term is redefined to include household appliances such as refrigerators, dryers, washers and dishwashers.
Standby power
Standby power - used by electronic devices and electronic equipment when turned off - accounts for 5-10% of total household energy consumption, at a cost of $ 100 per year for the average household in the United States. A study by the Berkeley Lab of the US Department of Energy found that video cassette recorders (VCRs) consume more electricity for a year in standby mode than when they were used to record or play videos. Similar findings were obtained about the satellite box, which consumes almost the same amount of energy in "on" and "off" modes.
A 2012 study in England, conducted by the Energy Saving Trust, found that devices that use the most power in standby mode include televisions, satellite boxes, and other video and audio equipment. The study concluded that households in the UK can save up to Ã, à £ 86 per year by turning off devices rather than using standby mode. A report from the International Energy Agency in 2014 found that $ 80 billion of power is wasted globally per year due to inefficiency of electronic devices. Consumers can reduce unwanted idle usage by unplugging their devices, using electrical sockets with a switch, or by purchasing standardized equipment for better energy management, especially Energy Star-marked products.
Electronic trash
Electronic waste describes a discharged electrical or electronic device. Many consumer electronics can contain minerals and toxic elements, and many electronic scrap components, such as CRTs, can contain contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, mercury, dioxin, or bromine flame retardants. Recycling of electronic waste may involve significant risks for workers and the community, and care should be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling and leaking of materials such as heavy metals from landfills and incinerator ash. However, a large amount of electronic waste generated from developed countries is exported, and handled by the informal sector in countries like India, despite the fact that exporting electronic waste to them is illegal. A strong informal sector can be a problem for safe and clean recycling.
Reuse and fix
The policy of electronic waste has been through various incarnations since the 1970s, with emphasis changing over the decades. Heavier gradually is placed on the need to dispose of e-waste more carefully because the toxic materials it may contain. There is also recognition that various precious metals and plastics from waste electrical equipment can be recycled for other uses. The recent desire to reuse all equipment has been prioritized in the 'preparation for reuse' guidelines. The policy focus is slowly moving toward a potential shift in attitudes for reuse and improvement.
With a high turnover of small household appliances and relatively low cost, many consumers will dispose of unwanted electrical goods in the normal waste bin, which means that potentially high-return or recycled items enter the landfill garbage. While larger items such as washing machines are usually collected, it is estimated that 160,000 tons of EEE in ordinary waste collection is valued at à £ 220 million. And 23% of EEEs taken to the domestic Waste Recycling Center can be resold immediately - or will with minor repairs or repairs. This shows a lack of awareness among consumers about where and how to dispose of EEE, and the potential value of things that literally enter the bin.
For reuse and repair of electrical items to increase substantially in the UK there are obstacles to be overcome. This includes people's distrust of the equipment used in terms of whether it will work, secure, and stigmatized for some secondhand owners. But reuse benefits can enable low-income households to access previously unreachable technologies while helping the environment at the same time. & Lt; Cole, C., Cooper, T. and Gnanapragasam, A., 2016. Extend product life through WEEE using reuse and improvement: opportunities and challenges in the UK. In: Electronics Goes Green 2016 Conference, Berlin, Germany, 7-9 September 2016 & gt;
Health impact
Desktop and laptop monitors produce major physical health problems for humans when the body is forced into an unhealthy and uncomfortable position to see the screen better. From this, neck and back pain and problems increase, commonly referred to as repetitive strain injury. Using electronics before bed makes it difficult for people to fall asleep, which has a negative effect on human health. Less sleep prevents people from fully exercising their potential physically and mentally and can also "increase the rate of obesity and diabetes," which is a "long-term health consequence". Obesity and diabetes are more often seen in students and adolescents because they tend to be the ones who most often use electronics. "People who often use their thumbs to type text messages on mobile phones can develop painful suffering called De Quervain syndrome that affects their tendons in their hands.The most recognizable disease in this category is called carpal tunnel syndrome, resulting from pressure on the nerves median on the wrist ".
Note
See also
- Digital electronics
- List of home appliances
- Product disassembly
- Timeline for electrical and electronic engineering
References
Further reading
- Kevin Sintumuang (January 2, 2015). "Tech Etiquette: 21 Do's and Don'ts". The Wall Street Journal .
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia