] LAS VEGAS -- The consumer electronics industry is in
] search of a spark to reignite growth, but there was
] little evidence of that here at the industry's 2003 trade
] show.
]
] Philips' Gottfried Dutine shows off the company's
] iPronto, a $1,700 "smart display" tablet that shows how
] electronics manufacturers think people will take control
] of digital entertainment at home. The iPronto has a
] 6.4-inch touch screen LDC displaying menus for
] controlling the TV, surfing the Web, playing MP3s on a
] home stereo and wirelessly controlling lights and
] security cameras.
] Gary Shapiro, chairman of the Consumer Electronics
] Association, tried to put a positive spin on his
] projection that consumer electronics product sales in the
] United States would reach $99.5 billion this year, up 3.5
] percent over 2002. But such growth looks anemic,
] considering sales last year were up only 3.7 percent over
] 2001 -- a far cry from the techno-boom of the 1990s.