Which consumer technology products were among the hottest sellers this Black Friday?

LCD televisions, laptop computers, digital picture frames and global positioning systems,  according to NPD Group.

“When looking for the best performing category of 2007, don’t look any further than GPS,” said Stephen Baker of The NPD Group, in a release. “While sales volumes were strong last year, it was more of an introduction for the category, than it was the establishment of a long-term opportunity. Sales this year appear to cement GPS as a long-term major player.”

NPD based its report on point-of-sale data  for the week ending Nov. 23 — the Friday after Thanksgiving.

It said GPS unit sales increased six-fold over last year, and revenue increased 237 percent from last year, breaking the $100 million mark.

Another category with break-out performance was digital picture frames, NPD said. Unit volume for Black Friday reached nearly 500,000 units and $30 million.

Retailers strongly promoted both GPS units and digital picture frames the day after Thanksgiving, hoping to entice shoppers into their stores with limited-time discounts.

Sleek LCD TVs were once again popular with consumers, with unit volume sales rising by 45 percent and revenue jumping 80 percent, NPD said, as 30-inch-and-larger products outsold the smaller sizes.

NPD said laptop computers had “solid” unit increases and dollar gains during Black Friday, but the sales were “somewhat of a comedown” from last year.

One category NPD does not track under consumer technology is video game console and video game sales. 

That means the research firm’s figures could be missing some of the season’s hottest sellers - like Nintendo’s Wii and video games like “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero.”

(Photo: Reuters)