Ultimate’s New York
State Of Mind

ALBANY, N.Y. — Ultimate Electronics,
the Colorado-based CE specialty
chain, has opened the company’s first
store in the Empire State, just outside
the state capital, here.

According to The Albany Business
Review, the 30,000-square-foot store
occupies a former Circuit City site in
the Crossgates Commons shopping
plaza.

Fellow tenants include a Best Buy
and a two-story, 260,000-square-foot
Walmart supercenter, reportedly the
country’s largest.
The new Ultimate Electronics store
is the second in the Northeast, following
the opening in March of a 33,000-
square-foot former Circuit City storefront
in Leominster, Mass., near
Boston. The chain plans more stores
in New York and Pennsylvania.

Electronics For Kids?
HDTVs, Laptops

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — Young
consumers are showing a flat to somewhat
falling interest in all CE devices
except HDTV and laptop computers,
stated The NPD Group.

A recent NPD study entitled Kids &
Consumer Electronics 6 found children
from 4 to 14 years old showed the most
interest in those two devices, with 74
percent of kids watching TV and 70 percent
using either a desktop or laptop.

NPD said HDTV and laptop surpassed
digital cameras as the mostacquired
device in the last 12 months,
although these products could not beat
out the cellphone as the primary teen
necessity, with 30 percent of this age
group buying one in the last year.

Polaroid Instant
Cameras Return

HOLLADAY, UTAH — The Polaroid
300 instant camera began shipping
last week, marking the brand’s return
to instant-film-based photography,
courtesy of licensee Summit Global
Group.

Summit Global said the technology
still enjoys a large following of enthusiasts
who have missed it since the former
owners discontinued the Polaroid Land
Camera offerings in the digital age.

The camera ($90 suggested retail)
will accept classic Polaroid instant film,
which the company is returning to production,
and will include an automatic
flash and four scene settings.