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Canon Digicam Prices Falling Like, Well, Cannonballs
Digital Cameras & Camcorders | Jun 27, 06
As I write this, a remarkable seven of the top ten most popular digital cameras on PriceSCAN.com are made by Canon. Yet popularity does not translate into price stability, if the plunging prices of some models are any indication.
As I write this, a remarkable seven of the top ten most popular digital cameras on PriceSCAN.com are made by Canon. Yet popularity does not translate into price stability, if the plunging prices of some models are any indication.
Case in point: the 6.0 megapixel Canon PowerShot S3 IS, currently the most popular digicam on this site. As you can see from the PriceTrend graph below, it would have cost you $500 some six weeks ago, and now can be purchased for under $390, a decline of over 20%.
Time Period: 3/13/2006 through 6/19/2006
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price
Even more remarkable is the fall in price of the runner-up in this popularity contest, the 7.1 megapixel Canon PowerShot A620, dropping over 50% since last September.
Interestingly, the same phenomenon has not been as pronounced in the case of the sole Sony camera on our top ten, the 6.0 megapixel CyberShot DSC-W50, off only about 10% from its price in late February. The same might also be said of at least one of the two Nikon SLR models that round out the list, the 6.1 megapixel D50, whose low price on this site has actually risen slightly in recent weeks (the other model, Nikon's professional 10.2 megapixel D200, displayed considerable price stability until the last month, over which its low price has fallen from approximately $1,950 to just over $1,600).
Now of course the recent price drops of the PowerShot S3 IS and A620 may be at least partly responsible for maintaining their popularity. Be that as it may, if you want to run with the pack, buying the Canons so many want will now cost you a lot less.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 2:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Screens So Flat And Cheap They May Sell Them On Giant Rolls, Like Toilet Paper...
Electronics | Jun 20, 06
...well, not quite yet (they're still a bit brittle for spooling). But the folks at iFire have apparently taken a step in that direction. The New York Post reports that the Canadian firm has produced sets less than two inches thick, suitable for hanging on the wall and expected to cost less than a grand. Based on thick film dielectric electroluminescent (TDEL) technology, iFire has unveiled 34" and 37" prototypes. Further, iFire claims flat-screen manufacturers could have TDEL models on the market by next year.
To give you an idea what kind of a price shock iFire's innovation could produce if pricing is as advertised, consider that, right now, the cheapest. 37" LCD set on PriceSCAN.com, the Syntax Olevia LT-37HVS, goes for just under $1,100. Many other models sell closer to $1,500. It's a similar story with plasmas. Now at the rate screen prices have been falling, it would not be surprising to see larger LCD and plasma sets selling for significantly less in 2007, so the degree to which iFire impacts the market will depend sensitively on just how far below the $1,000 level TDEL can be priced. And as the Post points out, with many manufacturers already committed to other technologies, persuading firms to adopt TDEL may be problematic, especially in the face of the falling price of LCD and plasma. Still, if iFire's technology pans out, it represents a very compelling value proposition.
The very existence of new technologies with the potential to produce flat screens substantially cheaper than current levels puts downward pressure on prices, lest a manufacturer employ that innovation to undercut the market. The bottom line is that whether or not TDEL flies, its potential may well speed the rate at which the price of other technologies sink.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 11:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Why Schizophrenia On The Mac Is A Good Thing
Computers | Jun 15, 06
Now that the beating heart of a Mac belongs to Intel, there's a new piece of software that allows you to run Windows or Linux on a Mac that's simultaneously running Mac OS X. It's called Parallels Desktop, and the Wall Street Journal just gave it a fairly positive review, noting its ease of use. There's no need to reboot and run one OS at a time; Windows or Linux just runs in a window on the Mac OS X desktop. Though the "virtualized" operating system runs a bit slower than it would if run solo a la BootCamp (see “Windows On A Mac – The End Is Near”) it's still said to be as fast as Windows on many Windows machines. Available from Parallels, it costs only $79 (BootCamp is free from Apple).
It's interesting to contemplate what this might mean for the marketplace. If the Mac is now truly a full-blown Windows computer that also offers the pleasures of OS X, there's really no reason for traditional PC buyers not to consider Apple's product. The Journal focused primarily on the Windows angle, but the potentially seamless use of Linux on a Mac only strengthens this argument (readers of this blog will recall I argued for running Linux on the Mac in the blog piece mentioned above). Further, Apple's traditionally higher price point, long a barrier to acceptance, has now fallen to the point where Macs are very competitive with other value-added design machines (see "Apple Cool Selling At Surprising Discount To Sony Style").
Cupertino has been historically weary of embracing non-Apple operating systems on Macs, but with the substitution of Intel chips for PowerPCs, that attitude was bound to wane. Indeed, Windows and Linux users, now able to run their programs on a Mac, may now find themselves drawn to these machines by Apple's styling and in the process discover what it is about the Mac OS that inspires such loyalty among a certain coterie of users. Apple and its Mac OS may yet find a way to increase market share beyond the relatively modest level of recent years. In any case, now there's certainly more reason to consider the Mac than the fact that it looks good connected to your iPod.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 7:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Buy One Core, Get Another Half Off...
Computers | Jun 6, 06
...and then some, actually. Intel's bulk wholesale price cuts on its dual core line of processors took effect on May 28th, and we seem to be seeing its effects pass through to retail, as indicated by the PriceSCAN.com index tracking these processors.
Intel reduced the price of its Core Duo chips by as much as 33% in this recent move. With the new Core 2 Duo line of chips slated for release this summer, Intel's price cuts may be an attempt to clear inventory and address weak demand in the face of competition from AMD's low-power consumption offerings. Interestingly, Intel also announced significant price reductions for its older Pentium D, Pentium 4 and Celeron lines. These cuts take effect July 23rd and will be offered to all computer makers (as opposed to only the largest PC manufacturers) thereby potentially aiding "white box" players in their struggle with the likes of Dell and HP. The PriceSCAN.com index tracking Pentium D prices fell off sharply in late April, well ahead of this news, but has been relatively stable in recent weeks. Stay tuned as we move into July and August.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 7:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
PriceSCAN Indices Track Key Goods; Available On This Site and Bloomberg
About | Jun 5, 06
We've unveiled a family of indices to allow you to see how the prices of tech and consumer goods are evolving through time. Presently, we're tracking indices for digital cameras, digital camcorders, iPOds, flash memory, computer processors and plasma, LCD, and projection televisions. You can find them all on the PriceSCAN.com indices page, and those of you who subscribe to the Bloomberg financial news service can access this data by entering the ticker PRIC followed by the commands <Index> <Go>.
Look for PriceSCAN.com to expand its index offerings in the coming days, and for these new tools to be used in the market commentary and economic analysis you've come to expect from this blog. And hey, who doesn't like – no, love – economic analysis?
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 3:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
