hdtv

The holidays may have come and gone, but when Best Buy posts its quarterly earnings, it's going to very publicly relive them -- whether it wants to or not. Wall Street analysts are generally optimistic, but there reasons for investors to worry.

A Best Buy online survey is asking participants how they would feel about a 42-inch HDTV from Apple. The specs it describes are impressive. But at $1,499, Apple's plan to revolutionize the way we watch TV could be priced out of the market.

It's hard to complain too much about how Japan "stole" the high-tech electronics business from the U.S. More accurately, they took a low-margin business off our hands. And you know what we should be saying to that? Good riddance!

No segment of the electronics industry better highlights the challenges of these times than the television business. With sales of standard TVs flagging, the industry is pinning its hopes to new models TVs equipped to handle Internet streaming, WiFi and more.

The motto of this year's Consumer Electronics Show: You can't be too fast, too skinny or too connected. Beginning Tuesday, anorexic HDTVs and super-skinny laptops will vie for attention with accelerated WiFi devices and TVs that smartly connect to multiple devices simultaneously.

Thin is in this season -- flat-screen televisions are shaping up to be among the hottest holiday gifts. Prices are at unheard-of lows, and supply is still ahead of demand, but there's another reason for their current popularity.

Attention holiday shoppers: Don't feel blue if you missed Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Retail analysts say the best deals are yet to come, with discounts growing deeper as Christmas draws nearer.

If you're in the market for a new television, you'd be wise to scoop up one of the sweet deals that will be available for the rest of 2011. TV manufacturers and retailers are desperate to unload inventory, so HDTVs, Internet-connected TVs and 3-D TVs will be going at deeply discounted prices.

Once upon a time, Japanese heavyweights Sony and Panasonic were the cream of the crop when it came to TV manufacturers. Nowadays, the leaders of the pack are Korean conglomerates Samsung and LG Display. With the old leaders losing money in the business, should they even keep trying to compete?

It isn't easy being a cable and Internet service provider these days. Consumers are turning to cheaper options, and they're tired of paying for channels they never watch. Networks are demanding more money. Add in performance issues, it's no surprise cable companies and wireless carriers among the country's most hated companies.