• by Aaron Baar , July 23, 2010

The U.S. consumer electronics industry will account for $175 billion in revenues this year, up 3% over last year's spending, according to projections from the Consumer Electronics Association.

According to the CEA's semiannual Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast, the organization also expects industry revenues to increase another 4% in 2011 to $182 billion. The July forecast is an increase of $9 billion from projections the CEA made in January, when the organization projected growth of 0.3%. However, new products and innovations such as 3D TVs, smartphones, Blu-ray disc players, e-readers and categories such as tablet computers boosted those projections.

"The January edition of the forecast was cautiously optimistic about the industry's return to growth this year," said Steve Koenig, CEA's director of industry analysis, in a statement. "Despite a relatively sluggish first half, these innovative product categories have generated a great deal of consumer interest. As a result, we see a stronger second half demand unfolding, and we anticipate a robust holiday quarter."

Of those categories, mobile computing looks to be a strong revenue driver for the year and could continue the push into 2011. According to the CEA, the category -- which includes laptops, netbooks and tablet computers -- will reach $26 billion in revenues by next year, with tablets leading that growth.

Wireless handsets are also seeing continued growth, and will account for $26 billion by 2011, led by the continued adoption of smartphones. The CEA projects that more than 54 million smartphones will ship to retailers in 2010, a 31% increase over the previous year. By 2011, more than 66 million smartphones will ship to dealers, according to the CEA.

And the buzz around 3D TVs seems to be paying off. The CEA said shipments of 3D TVs will double the organization's January projections to 2.1 million in 2010. By 2011, the CEA predicts, more than six million 3D TVs will be sold in the U.S., generating more than $7 billion in revenue.