CEA: 8 Million Net-Connected TVs to Ship in 2010

New York — The Consumer Electronics Association projects about 8 million Internet-enabled HDTVs, about 25% of all television sets, will ship in the U.S. in 2010.

Last year, Net-connected TVs represented 5% of the total; in 2011, CEA expects about one-third of all units will be broadband-enabled, said CEA president and CEO Gary Shapiro.

“The TV set is now essentially a computer,” said Shapiro, speaking at the TV of Tomorrow conference here Thursday.

It’s not clear, however, how many of those are actually hooked up to the Internet — or how frequently people are using them. A Forrester Research survey this summer found only 20% of people who have connected TVs say they’re happy with them, while 26% said they don’t use them much.

Shapiro also plugged the 2011 CES in Las Vegas in January, and noted that Verizon chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg will deliver the opening keynote on Jan. 6.

“Who knows if they’ll announce the Verizon iPhone — I don’t know,” he said with a chuckle.