By Steve Miller

The digital age is here. Once the Federal Communications Commission officially kills the analog signal that sends much of the TV programming to our homes, the digital conversion will be complete.

Many are making the jump anyway. High-definition LCD TV sales are projected to grow 33% this year to 24 million units, according to the Consumer Electronics Assn., Arlington, Va.

While such continued sales (largely unaffected by the economy as consumers apparently need to escape the gloom into their home theaters) is on balance good news for the industry, the money isn't all flowing to "superbrands" like Sony. Upstarts like Vizio, with its promise of "Where vision meets value," and Westinghouse have made inroads by undercutting the competition. This has given consumers an entry point into flat-screen heaven and at the same time taken market share from the big guys.

Sony has battled back with its cheaper Bravia M series, which will be manufactured in Mexico. At the same time, Sony plans to leverage its "HDNA" (as in "HD is in our DNA") campaign across its spectrum of electronics products, starting with ads focused on its digital imaging products. BBDO, New York, handles."It's a consistent creative that gives the idea of HDNA credibility," says Stuart Redsun, svp-marketing at Sony Electronics. "You will see HDNA for everything."

GPS Moving in Right Direction
The other big hit is GPS. Sales for such devices jumped 41% last year, per the Yankee Group, Boston. But revenues have dropped for the two top dogs in the category, Garmin and TomTom. Smaller guys like Germany's Navigon, meanwhile, have moved up. Navigon launched its first U.S. ad campaign last fall, via 2x4, Chicago, featuring its "reality view" technology that shows in 3D the road on which the driver is traveling.

Such nifty technology should help the category stave off competition from GPS-enabled smart phones like the iPhone, said Josh Martin, a Yankee Group analyst. "Some might think that [navigation platforms available on cell phones] would steer people away from navigation devices. But when people see what navigation can do, they very well may want to get a better, more refined technology."

Potential Game Changer
As always, it is Apple. The Apple Air "has done what everyone wanted to do and done it right," said Rob Enderle, principal at the Enderle Group, San Jose, Calif. "Apple took a laptop and made it smaller, but instead of shrinking it overall, it made it thinner. You will see a lot of folks who want to do what Apple has done. Things will change.

" One thing that's already changed is the mobile phone market. As promised, the iPhone became the must-have device in consumer electronics, even depressing sales of Apple's iPod. Now Apple has to fend off iPhone clones. Many of the phone makers have been scurrying to create their version of the iPhone, including Samsung's Instinct and LG's Vu.

Apple's response is to innovate ahead of the market. Last month, it announced it was out of stock on previous iPhone models, fueling rumors that a more powerful G3 phone is on the way.

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