With less than six weeks remaining before the transition to digital television (DTV) is completed, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) seems to still have its head in the sand about the success of the governments plan to make sure that manufacturers and retailers have ensured ample and widespread DTV converter box availability and that obtaining and using the coupons are as easy as the many TV commercials claim.

While more than thirty-four thousand retail outlets are offering coupon-eligible converter boxes to consumers, including at least seven major nationwide retailers and 35 online retailers, several retail sources tell Electronic House that too many people are still confused about the process and many others are waiting too long and letting their 90 day coupons expire. The Obama transition team may be on the money with their reported proposal to delay the deadline.

“We were not informed properly of what to tell customers who seem to be coming at an alarming rate because of the heavy advertising rate with expired coupons,” says a Target store manager in Connecticut.

Electronic House interviewed store managers and employees at WalMart, Target, Best Buy and several major regional CE retailers who also claim that despite the heavy advertising, many customers driven to get coupons are not sure what to do.

“This is not a big markup item and we are more inclined to pay attention to our TV, stereo and PC customers,” says a salesman at a downtown New York City regional CE chain. “When we can pay attention to the coupon customer, it takes too long for what should be an easy sale, so someone at the federal level should be researching what’s wrong with the process.”
An informal survey conducted by the CEA on January 7, 2009, found in-stock converter boxes at nationwide retail outlets including Best Buy, Circuit City, Radio Shack, Sears, Target, WalMart and K-Mart. In addition, many of these outlets offer online and phone sales of converter boxes. Online-only retailers, including Amazon.com, are stocked with multiple brands of converter boxes and many offer free shipping to consumers.

A salesman at a prominent New England CE and appliance chain says the timing is working against both store managers and customers. “We are sending customers away with expired coupons and even when they follow the rules, it seems we are not getting many of those in again.”

Other tidbits from CES:
Thursday’s briefing and Q&A with several so-called stars of the industry on the sales of Blu-ray discs and other related statistical information on digital hardware and software was so boring that when a reporter entered the room with a parrot on his head, literally everyone in the room turned around. Perhaps the parrot had something more original to say about Blu-ray.

Coby, the fast rising, budget minded CE maker has entered into the burgeoning Netbook computer business with several models that are priced at $199 (without built-in Wi-Fi) and $219 (with Wi-Fi). These Linux based systems are aimed at college and high-school students and weigh only a few pounds. Coby is also selling a full windows based Netbook for only $75 more. Already being sold in South America and Japan, they should reach Target, K-Mart and WalMart in a few months.

Coby also joined the Internet radio category with the release of the IR-850 (image below). Pricing is only $139 for one of the entry-level models. According to a company spokesman, the Internet Radio will include services like Slacker, Pandora and other popular web-based and will be ready in a few months.