Consumer electronics: Fun and function: John Q. Public goes digital with calculators, watches, sewing machines, and air conditioners

The spark and crackle typically associated with new consumer electronics were subdued during 1975. Though the spotlight played briefly on video disks, little hardware is yet available ¿ excitement dissipated quickly, awaiting the ¿big push¿ still scheduled for late this year when MCA/Philips and RCA start marketing players in the United States. Calculators were personal, portabl, and plentiful this past year, with new entries by Hewlett-Packard and Texas Instruments leading the pack. And jewelers, accustomed to the familiar tick of mechanical timepieces, had to adjust to the silence of the digital watch-which, as prices tumble, is showing up in chain store windows as well as posh display cases. Here, the technology tug-of-war revolves around readouts: light-emitting diodes (LEDs) vs. liquid crystal displays (LCDs).