Gartner says 50% of data centers will have insufficient power and cooling capacity by 2008. Traditionally the power required for non-IT equipment in the data center (for example, cooling, fans and pumps) represented about 60% of total annual energy consumption. As power requirements continue to grow, energy costs will emerge as the second highest operating cost in 70% of worldwide data center facilities by 2009. However, a flurry of innovation is under way that will converge during the next three years to substantially mitigate the power/cooling issue.

iSuppli predicts the worldwide small/medium display market will grow to 3.8 bln units in 2010, up from 3.5 bln in 2006. Meanwhile, global revenue in this market will decline marginally, with sales amounting to $22.3 bln in 2010, compared to $23.1 bln in 2006, illustrating the impact of price erosion on small/medium display suppliers.

21% of adult Internet users with children believe the kids are online too long, compared with 11% in 2000. 49% complain their kids watch too much TV. About 80% of the children say the Internet is important for schoolwork. 47% of the adults say they have withheld Internet use as a form of punishment. Banning television is still more popular, reported by 57% of adults surveyed by University of Southern California.

Only 13% of consumers use their cell phones more than 1000 minutes per month. 68% of users say camera is favorite cell phone feature, Wirefly reports. 13% of consumers use their cell phone more than an average of 30 minutes per day. 46% use their cell phone 500 minutes a month or less. 32% use their cell phone between 500 and 1000 minutes per month. 13% said they use their cell phone more than 1000 minutes each month. 68% of users say the camera is their favorite cell phone feature, beating out built-in MP3 players, GPS systems or TV functionality. 17% of users take more than 15 pictures each month. 63% of users take 1-15 pictures per month. 17% of users take more than 15 pictures per month and 14% of users don’t take pictures at all.

According to Gartner, approximately $913 mln in 2006 e-commerce sales is lost because of security concerns among online shoppers. Another $1 bln is lost because of shoppers who refuse to shop online because of security concerns. 46% of more than 155 mln US online adults, say that concerns about theft of information, data breaches or Internet-based attacks have affected their purchasing payment, online transaction or e-mail behavior. Gartner estimates that these security concerns have kept approximately 33 mln US adults from banking online. According to the survey, nearly 9 mln US adults have stopped online banking altogether, while another estimated 23.7 mln won’t start because of their security concerns.

Shipments for US-made PCs and related equipment plunged nearly 25% in October 2006 to the lowest level in at least 14 years. Shipments of PCs, mainframe computers and peripheral gear fell 24.9% to $4.72 bln, from $6.28 bln in September 2006, US Commerce Department said. The figure was the lowest since the government began tracking those figures in 1992. Orders fell a similar amount, dropping 25.6% to $4.77 bln, the third-lowest level since 1993. The drop helped push down orders for all electronic products 10.2% to $27.58 bln.

HDTV sales have increased 52% in unit volume and 39% in dollar volume in Q1-Q3 2006 compared to the same time period in 2005. Sales of HDTVs during the 2005 holiday season (November and December) topped $2.2 bln with over 1.4 mln units sold and are expected to continue to grow in 2006, NPD Group says. The average price of an HDTV set is down more than 8% year-to-date (January through September) compared to the same time in 2005. Prices for LCD and plasma TVs dropped significantly from the 2004 holiday season to the 2005 holiday season with 35% and 41% declines, respectively.

Borrell Associates sent us the data on 2006 estimated ad spending for each local market in the United States.

DisplaySearch forecasts that the plasma TV market will start shrinking in 2009 after hitting $24 bln in 2008, while it sees LCD TV demand reaching $75 bln in 2008 and $93 bln in 2010.

The mobile adult content market is forecast to grow from its 2006 level of $1.4 bln to over $3.3 bln by 2011, according to Juniper Research. Over the whole 2006 to 2011 period Juniper estimates that mobile adult entertainment services will generate an impressive $14.5 bln in revenues, with Europe contributing 39% and Asia Pacific 33%.

43% of Britons who watch video from the internet or on a mobile device at least once a week said they watched less normal TV as a result. 13% said they watched occasionally, while a further 10% said they expected to start in the coming year. Online and mobile video is far more popular among the young, with 28% of those aged 16-24 saying they watched more than once each week.

European Commission says spam accounts for 50-80% of all e-mail sent to inboxes. Spam cost $51.1 bln worldwide in 2005.

Notebooks represent the fastest-growing segment of the worldwide PC market, accounting for 40% of all PC unit shipments in 2010, up from 28% in 2005, according to iSuppli.

44% of Americans feel it’s never too early to start shopping, Shop.com survey says. More than half of the respondents plan to buy gifts for 3-10 people while 40% have more than 10 people on their holiday lists. And they plan to spend significant money with 20% saying they will splurge on $75+ per gift and almost 50% saying they?ll spend more than $35 per gift.

The average price of a 4″x6″ print has fallen to 15c from 43c in 2002, says Photo Marketing Association International. PMAI says 6.9 bln prints will be produced by retailers in 2006, up from 4.6 bln in 2005.

Credit Suisse expects LCD TV prices to fall 30% or more in 2007, compared with a decline of 15 to 20% for plasma TVs, due to ample LCD panel supplies.

According to Information Solutions Group, 89% of casual gamers are 30 or older, 72% are female, and 53% are married with kids. Nearly half are college graduates.

58% of respondents to a DiscoverCard survey said they would be “thrilled” to receive a gift card because they could buy what they want, and another 26% said they would be “touched” by the giver’s thoughtfulness. Only 9% of respondents would be disappointed to receive a gift card because they feel they are impersonal, indicating that respondents overwhelmingly feel that gift cards are a thoughtful gift. 76% of respondents will consider giving a gift card because it ensures the recipient will ultimately get what he or she truly wants. Among the other leading reasons why gift givers will consider gift cards in 2006, 65% said they were easy and convenient for both the giver and the receiver, while 64% favor them because they provide the recipient with multiple purchasing options.