Short answers, pulled from the story.
Historically, these products were called black goods because many had dark casings. The term distinguished them from white goods meant for housekeeping tasks like washing machines or refrigerators.
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo successfully commercialized transistor technology for a mass market starting in the 1950s. Their affordable transistor radios helped launch the home entertainment consumer electronics industry.
Cities such as Shenzhen and Dongguan have become important production centers attracting many companies including Apple Inc. Most consumer electronics are manufactured in China due to maintenance cost, material availability, quality, and speed compared to other countries like the United States.
In 2004, the consumer electronics industry was worth US $240 billion annually worldwide. Asia Pacific held a 35% market share while Europe had 31.5% and the US accounted for 23%.
Electronic devices account for about 10% to 15% of energy use in American homes according to EIA estimates. Standby power used while turned off accounts for 5% to 10% of total household energy consumption costing $100 annually per average US household.