Like rotary phones and Betamax videotapes before them, the following are products that will soon go the way of the mammoth.
10 years ago, most houses relied on slow dial-ups to connect to the Internet, and flat-screen TVs, Nintendo Wii and iPods simply didnt exist. As we begin this year; you should expect to see newer products replacing old mainstays. Actually, some consumer products seem poised for sales drops, which might be an inevitable prelude to obsolescence. These are five declining items in 2010.
DVD
The days of visiting a video store for renting a movie are almost over. Blockbuster is even planning to close more than 20 percent of its outlets by the end of this year. Looking ahead, DVD sales could turn cold as well. A typical DVD sells for about $20. Thats more expensive than signing up with on-demand channels. With just $9 a month you can rent one DVD on Netflix. Time Warner Cable offers many on demand movies for less than $5 each. Verizon cable TV service charges you $6 a month for downloading unlimited movies.
Home telephone service
Perhaps, it will take a while; even so, home land lines could one day become as uncommon as the rotary phone. According to a study, more than a fifth of U.S. households had no land lines and use only cell phones in the early 2009. Ditching your land line is a lot easier, as most cell phone companies compete fiercely for greater market share. For example, magicJack offers an easy phone service; it only needs a home phone and your computer’s USB port and costs only $40 (including a license for one-year calls in the Canada and US). Also consider using Skype, which offers free connection when communicating with other Skype users. It uses the Internet for making calls, send instant messages and hold video conferences.
External hard drives
Those who keep their PCs for years and download tons of songs, photos, movies and videos at certain point find they should have more space. External hard drives are an option, but they will die someday. An upcoming alternative might be easier and save you a difficult transition down the road. Offsite and online backup services, like Mozy and Carbonite, allow users to back up files over the Internet. Even so, these services are still more expensive than buying an external hard drive, which usually starts at about $75. At Carbonite.com, an annual subscription starts at $55 and Mozy.com at $55 annually (although you can have 2 GB of storage for free account).
Compact digital cameras
For years, compact digital cameras were in high demand. But during the past few years, another kind of digital camera has been steadily rising in fame: the SLR (single-lens reflex) camera, from manufacturers including Sony, Olympus, Nikon and Canon. Although bulkier, those cameras produce images that more correctly represent what is on their LCD viewfinders than those older compact cameras.
CDs
The last decade had been devastating to the mainstream record industry. First, there was Napster, then iTunes, which offered easy accessibility and affordable pricing. Lets face it, just like Betamax, CDs aren’t coming back.Record stores are also feeling the pinch. Many Virgin Megastores have been closed following declines in revenues and sales.