2012 looks set to be the year of the cheap gadget

This year looks set to be the "year of the cheap gadget" thanks to the increasing globalization of the consumer electronics market.

We're in the midst of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. While everyone's there trying to size up what's going to be the latest, hottest gadget, there's a trend rippling beneath the surface that will make a difference for your wallet.

The market for electronics has globalized in terms of who consumes them, not who makes them -- the latter having happened a long time ago! This year, almost half of all gadgets will be purchased in the Third World, not the First World. It's a $1 trillion market.

The advantage of the worldwide popularization of gadgets is that price points are being driven down. When I was in Europe recently, I saw brand new unlocked world phones being sold for the equivalent of $7.50. That's happened because of the mass adoption of cells in the Third World where market prices needs to be less than the equivalent of $10.

As the global appetite for gadgets keeps expanding, it gives economies of scale and production, and because the price points in much of the rest of the world have to be lower, the deals will be better and better here in the United States.

So I can't say what the next hot gadget is, but I know you'll get a great deal on it throughout all of 2012!