The consumer electronics market has become like the fashion industry -obsessed with the newest and latest technology. The marriage of the two industries is bringing cutting-edge chic to the functionality of the consumer electronics world. Accompanied by blaring music, a model wearing a fabric-based keyboard, a hip-slung wireless email machine and a head-mounted eyepiece pulls a cell phone from her vest and with attitude struts down the runway. For now, you'll only see this digital attire at a high-tech fashion show, but rest assured, this futuristic garb is ready to hit the streets.

Before long, tens of millions of people could be wearing computers one way or another. The parts may slot into a Cyberjacket or BlazerJet like the ones developed at the University of Bristol in conjunction with Hewlett-Packard's research lab. They may be woven into belts, like the Xybernaut models that have been commercially available for years. They may be imbedded in jewelry such as Charmed Technologies has presented at global cyber-fashion shows, or the pendant computer Toshiba showed in concept from. They may even become part of military uniforms, like BARS (Battlefield Augmented Reality System), a military project funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research.

There also is talk of creating brooches and earrings that would work as a secret mobile-phone headset. The earring would be the speaker and the brooch would be the receiver, each communicating wirelessly with the mobile phone in some hidden pocket.

Historically viewed as the "realm of the geeks," consumer electronics now appear to be infiltrating the ultra trendy fashion industry. The success of recent product releases from the iMac computer to the Claudia Schiffer and Michael Jordan Palm devices have shown that there is a market for consumer electronic devices that allow consumers to express their individuality.

The results of the "Accessory Fashion, Ownership and More" survey conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) this summer identify four distinct categories of consumer electronics shoppers, but also find that, regardless of category, quality and cost still reign supreme. The four categories of shoppers were identified as: Fashion Bugs (11% of shoppers), Fashion Conscious (16%), Fashion Neutral (39%), and Fashion Oblivious (33%).

With the trend toward fashion in consumer electronics accessories, the potential market for manufacturers is tremendous. Within the last two years, 83% of consumer bought a consumer electronic product, and 40% of all consumer electronic purchases result in at least one accessory purchase within two years. If each consumer were to purchase just one consumer electronics accessory, this would imply a minimum potential market of $340 million.

Talk

In "A Kick In The Seat Of The Pants" (Harper Perennial) author, Roger von Oech, shares some valuable insights on the process of creative thinking:

"To avoid trying new things, some people develop attitudes about creative thinking that keep them safely stuck where they are. These attitudes are:

• It's not important.

• I don't have time.

• I already have the answer.

• I'm not creative.

These attitudes are dangerous because they can cause you to miss some important things. For example, if you're indifferent to creative thinking, then you've failed to see that generating and implementing new ideas are crucial survival skills in a rapidly changing world.

If you spend your time like a fireman - fighting fires, tending routines, and letting your business manage you rather than the other way around - then you haven't realized that your job might be easier if you engaged in some creative fire prevention.

If you arrogantly believe that you've already got the right answer, strategy, or approach, you won't find out that there may be a better way to do what you're doing . . . perhaps until it is too late.

And if you're self-esteem is low, you haven't realized that whether or not you become the next Picasso, Einstein, or Curie, you were born with the ability to probe the world in unique ways, and your challenge is to realize this potential."

What is holding you back from looking at your current projects and challenges with fresh perspectives? Are you stuck by believing that there is nothing new to be thought of? Or worse, do you believe that thinking in new ways is dangerous and frightening? Why not take a moment now, grab an associate and discuss one challenge each of you is experiencing.

Valuable insights into new perspectives worth considering might just pop up.

Published: March 6, 2002

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Kathy Lamancusa is a trend strategis, professional speaker and author who tracks the forces that impact our lives. Over 1.6 million copies of Kathy's books are in print, and she has appeared on numerous television and radio shows including Oprah! She is a public speaker who can offer organizations entertaining and enlightening peeks into what is coming and what is shaping change so that they can better reach their own customer bases.