It may have been the decade that taste forgot – but many Brits still yearn for 1980s technology around the home, from kitchen innovations like Soda Streams to living room shelves bulging with vinyl and video collections, according to new research from Halifax Home Insurance issued today.

• One in three (30%) prefer 1980s traditions such as shelves stacked with vinyl albums, 12 inch singles and video cassettes
• Just over half those quizzed (53%) believe the current, ‘Noughties’ era will come to be viewed as the best for home gadget innovation, thanks to the likes of Sky Plus, Nintendo Wii and the iPhone
• Three quarters of people (74%) say that whatever new gadgets appear around the home in the future, children will still be the most likely to know how to use them

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As the pace at which new gadgets are launched grows, Britons are embracing them like never before according to new research by telephone and internet bank first direct. The bank has found that the UK has built up a gadget mountain of over 400 million pieces of kit which equates to more than 16 gadgets in every household.

The launch of new MP3 players, upgrades to HDTV, the launch of Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, flat screens and plasma screens are adding to the abundance of kit we have in our homes. But first direct has found stark contrasts in the different relationships people have with gadgets in their everyday lives. From ‘resisters’ to ‘gadget-junkies’ we all have our own way of living with technology.

The television maintains its popularity with almost 60 million of them in UK homes (an average 2.5 per household). DVD players are also high on the list with almost 40 million in the UK (roughly 1.6 per household) but its forerunner, the video recorder is still a hit with consumers with over 22 million in homes around the country. However, Britain’s number one gadget is the mobile phone: there are almost 70 million handsets across the country.

Computing has also taken hold in UK homes. There are more than 24 million PCs or laptops, while over 22 million games consoles are satisfying a taste for action from the living room.

As the first bank to offer 24 hour banking and the pioneer of text message banking, first direct is always looking at how technological innovations are shaping the lifestyles of UK consumers. The reliance on technology now extends far beyond the entertainment arena. Over 16 million people claim to regularly use the internet for their banking and a further 8 million people regularly shop online.

Numbers of gadgets in UK households

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