UK gadget mountain worth £74 billion

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Fewer breadmakers than previously thought

Our favourite gadget is the mobile phone; there are 69.8 million of them around in the UK

Collectively, us gadget-crazy Britons now own some 400 million pieces of kit, which works out at about 16 gadgets per household. Mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, LCD TVs, sat-nav units, PVRs etc. are now commonplace in many modern homes.

Our gadgets are worth a staggering £74 billion, according to research by First Direct, who surveyed a representative sample of over 1000 adults from around the UK. So take the numbers with a pinch of salt.

The TV upgrade cycle

We spend more money on televisions than any other gadget (£29 billion in total) - a fact undoubtly buoyed by the current upgrade cycle from analogue to digital and from CRT to flat panel. £10 billion is spent on desktop and notebook computers.

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Our favourite toys, according to the report, are obviously mobile phones (69.8 million estimated), followed by TVs (59.6 million) and DVD players/recorders (39.4 million).

The prominence of digital TV receivers shows that the digital switchover process is in full swing, although analogue radios are still hanging on in the face of a concerted DAB onslaught. The VCR numbers are an anomaly - we all still own them, but they're most likely gathering dust in the attic.

The full list of gadgetry is below:

Numbers of gadgets in UK households (numbers in the UK @ average price = cash value in the UK):

  • Mobile phones (69.8 million @ £80 = £558.4 million)
  • Televisions (59.6 million @ £500 = £29.8 billion)
  • DVD players/recorders (39.4 million @ £100 = £3.94 billion)
  • Satellite/Freeview boxes/cable TV (29.5 million @ £30 = £885 million)
  • Analogue radios (28.5 million @ £20 = £570 million)
  • Stereos (28.5 million @ £20 = £570 million)
  • Apple iPods/MP3 players (25.2 million @ £80 = £2.02 billion)
  • Broadband-enabled desktop/notebook computers: (24.5 million @ £400 = £9.8 billion)
  • Digital cameras (23 million @ £300 = £6.9 billion)
  • VCRs (22.3 million @ £50 = £1.12 billion) Computers (19.2 million @ £400 = £7.68 billion)
  • Games consoles (18.7 million @ £200 = £3.74 billion)
  • Digital (DAB) radios (13.2 million @ £80 = £1.06 billion)
  • Camcorders (9.6 million @ £300 = £2.88 billion)
  • BlackBerrys/PDAs (4.1 million @ £200 = £820 milllion)
  • Home cinema projectors (3.4 million @ £500 = £1.7 billion)

Total: 418.5 million devices worth £74.03 billion.