Tech sector could have some unhappy holidays

First, it means that they could be facing a rather thin holiday retail season. Many of the people purchasing the smaller tech gadgets may not be interested in purchasing another one, or an installation or warranty package. Electronics retailers should be a bit concerned, especially since Retail Forward (a consultancy group) forecast the second-worst holiday sales (including electronics) in 42 years.

Second, we could be looking at a holiday season full of low-priced gadgets geared toward making your existing tech toys better. Watch for Santa to be tucking more iPod speakers and DVD players under the Christmas tree this year, as these will be among the most affordable tech gadgets this year.

The article pins its hopes on electronic reading devices (e-readers). These e-readers allow someone to pay a fee and download a book that will be carried in a nice, tidy little package. However, with e-readers still retailing for more than $200, I don't expect there to be too many e-reader sales come December. I don't know about you, but in the time I have to read, my library book works just fine -- and is a heck of a lot cheaper than a $200 tech toy.

Face it "techies," we could be looking at a January and February of extremely low-priced items and disappointing sales results.