Smartphone top US electronics buy in 2011

Technology research company Gartner said consumers in the United States are more likely to buy a smartphone in 2011 than a personal computer, a basic mobile phone, an electronic book reader, a tablet computer or gaming products.

Gartner said the next most popular electronics items for US consumers after smartphones were laptop computers, desktop computers, basic mobile phones, e-book readers and tablet computers.

"Continued low retail pricing and widespread adoption of applications like Web browsing, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, GPS and games will continue to stimulate consumer demand" for smartphones, Gartner principal research analyst Hugues de la Vergne said in a statement.

"As more consumers adopt smartphones, the market will shift from the more technically astute tech savants toward less tech-savvy comfortable conformists," de la Vergne said.

Gartner said US smartphone sales are expected to grow from 67 million units in 2010 to 95 million units in 2011.

Mobile PC shipments are forecast to rise to 50.9 million in 2011 from 45.6 million last year.

Gartner said it surveyed 1,557 mobile phone users in December 2010 in Britain, China, India, Italy, Japan and the United States.

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