Poll shows that 58% of Americans still have a VCR

CES this week allows technology developers to showcase the latest gadgets that may become must-haves for many Americans. As attendees get a glimpse of the industry’s future, Gallup finds that the devices Americans own have changed over the past decade, with ownership of laptops (64%) and iPods/MP3 players (45%) up most dramatically from 2005. Meanwhile, far smaller proportions of Americans now own VCRs and basic cellphones, which were a staple to many in the past.

Last month, partly in preparation for the Consumer Electronics Show taking place in Vegas this week, Gallup polled Americans about the technologies they use in their homes. It then compared its findings to Americans’ responses to the same questions posed to them in 2005. Some of the takeaways: Cable TV has the same penetration in 2013—68 percent—as it did in 2005. Some 45 percent of Americans retain their non-smartphone cells. Some 73 percent of them have wifi in their homes—which, given Pew’s 2013 finding that 85 percent of Americans have used the Internet at all, seems extraordinarily high.