John Handy, manager of the Radio Shack store at the North Dartmouth Mall, said business has almost tripled in the past year on cellular phones, more than doubled for direct satellite service and the computer market is booming. Employees are trained in the new technology and Mr. Handy said within 15 minutes a customer can feel comfortable with a new electronic device. Satellite dishes were once five feet or nine feet in diameter and took up residence in the backyard just a few years ago. Today those devices are 18 inches wide and can be attached to the outside of a home or mounted on a chimney. Those small dishes can bring 175 channels into living rooms and the potential to expand even more in the future.
Customers subscribe to one of two companies nationwide, and pay a monthly fee.
He envisions a future where a customer will use a cellular phone instead of installing one into their houses. Within the next five years they will be totally left out of the electronic loop, he said. In September, the company began sales of the C66-IBM Activa which does all that and more. The national chain of Circuit City stores is one of the largest specialty retailers of brand name consumer electronics and home appliances. Ann Collier, a member of the public relations division at the company's Virginia headquarters, said the fastest growing area of electronics is in the digital technology.