By Jim Barry

CEA’s Digital Answer Man

June 12th…Deep in the heart of Texas….Just drove in to Dallas from San Antonio to finish up the last leg of whirlwind two-week pre Father’s Day media tours.

It’s hot in Texas, topping 100 degrees for most of the trip here that began Sunday in Houston. (It was hot back home in New England too, where temps set records near 100 too.)  I was reminded by a radio host with whom I’ve been doing segments for more than 10 years of the year I had to navigate an epic ice storm in San Antonio. That was when we used to do the Texas tour in the weeks right after CES in January. We changed about five years ago when more of the stations from these markets (and now many others) began coming to CES to do live and taped reports on site.  The only worry about ice on this trip is getting enough to keep the drinks cool!

This tour is the last one focused on electronic gifts for Dads (and Grads) with GPS, digital photo frames and digital cameras and camcorders the featured items. Questions about GPS products and technology have increased dramatically in the past few months so that they’re now almost as frequent as queries about the digital TV transition, plasma and LCD.  This week, of course, lots of questions about the newly announced iPhone 2.0 which is due to deliver next month.

On the subject of DTV, in Houston the Fox TV affiliate didn’t want to talk gadgets but rather did a live segment on the DTV converter box and coupon program. They had two old 20-inch TVs set up on a studio counter, connected to a roof antenna. The Zenith DTV converter box I brought along worked just fine (whew! live spot, first time I’d actually used this box!).   I not only showed how easy the box is to set-up, I also explained the simple application process to receive two $40-off coupons from the government.  You can use the coupon towards the purchase of any coupon-eligible converter box (like the Zenith).

Texas has lower cable subscription rates than most other areas of the country — lots of wide open flat spaces for over the air signals to travel — so the DTV conversion has even greater resonance there. The folks there also raised the issue of portable, battery-operated “Hurricane TVs,” like the analog ones that have been available for less than $50.  We encountered this question earlier this spring in Florida where these folks were looking for a very low-cost portable DTV. So far we have seen a few in the $120-200 price range.  I expect to see more come onto the market if and when the demand grows.  But for now, there are some great portable options for consumers.Â

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