Sales of mobile phones and personal computers are set to decline this year, but the demand for high end technology devices like 3DTVs, ebook readers and tablet computers will soar at rapid pace, according to a survey conducted by management consulting firm Accenture.

The Accenture (News - Alert) survey predicts that sales in personal computers and mobile phones (excluding smartphones) will decline by 39 percent and 56 percent, respectively, from last year. By contrast, buying rates of 3DTVs (three-dimensional TVs) are expected to rise 500 percent; tablet computers 160 percent; ebook readers 133 percent; and smartphones 26 percent.

The surveyors, according to Accenture, contacted 8,000 consumers in eight countries including Brazil, China, India, Russia, France, Germany, Japan and the United States.

Only 17 percent of respondents said they plan to buy a desktop or laptop computer in 2011–– a 39 percent drop from 2010.

The research also showed that consumers are using multiple devices, such as tablet PCs, for browsing the Web, watching videos and reading books, newspapers and magazines.

“The research findings raise the question as to whether, in the long run, desktop and laptop PCs in the home will be increasingly replaced by a group of newer technology alternatives such as tablet computers, netbooks, smartphones and e-book readers,” said Kumu Puri, senior executive with Accenture’s Electronics & High-Tech Practice.

 “If strength is measured by unit sales, the computer will remain the strong consumer technology giant for many years.”

Nearly 93 percent of those responded to the survey owned a personal computer. Yet, the Accenture says the PC market has been saturating at a rapid pace.

The research also found that ownership of basic mobile phones dropped from 79 percent in 2009 to 65 percent in 2010. In the same period, ownership of smartphones quadrupled from 8 percent to 32 percent.

More than 57 percent of respondents said they would be more inclined to buy a 3DTV if the price were within their budget.

Among respondents in all eight countries surveyed, Chinese consumers were among the most enthusiastic purchasers and users of the latest consumer technologies. While 2 to 3 percent of respondents in most countries own a 3DTV, twice that many Chinese respondents say they own one. Sixty-nine percent of the nation’s respondents want or plan to own a 3D TV, compared with only one-fourth of U.S. consumers and one-fifth of Japanese consumers.

Chinese respondents are big users of smartphones, the survey revealed. More than half (53 percent) of Chinese respondents currently own a smartphone versus one-third of U.S.