Time Period: 4/16/2007 through 3/3/2008
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

It's a similar story for the then-most popular LCD set on PriceSCAN (now the second-most sought-after on our site), the 52 inch Samsung LN-T5271F, whose average price has actually gone up over the last two weeks.
Time Period: 9/3/2007 through 3/3/2008
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

It's worth noting that the current most popular LCD television on PriceSCAN, Sony's KDL-52XBR4 52 inch BRAVIA XBR High Definition LCD WEGA, has dropped appreciably in price over the last two months (perhaps helping to account for its rise in relative popularity), though it has recently shown signs of stabilizing.
Flat-screen price firming is borne out in the behavior of the PriceSCAN LCD and Plasma indices. Interestingly, in the case the 50-inch plasma indices, the 720p sets have appreciated sharply relative to 1080p televisions, perhaps indicating that the former fell too far, too fast relative to the higher-definition later.
Five weeks ago I speculated that January's flat screen price hikes/stabilization might have been influenced by the then-upcoming SuperBowl, and this might indeed have been the case. Yet the persistence of these phenomena suggests other factors may be at work, including perhaps next year's switch to digital transmission and, more ominously, the looming shadow of inflation, now beginning to spread to portions of the technology sector.

Time Period: 6/4/2007 through 2/25/2008
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

You can also see evidence of this effect in the 9% year-to-date rally of the PriceSCAN Blu-ray index.
By contrast, the lowest offered price of Toshiba’s HD-A3 HD-DVD player on this site has fallen over 55% during the last seven weeks, and the average price is off over 45% - see graph below.
Time Period: 9/24/2007 through 2/25/2008
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

The overall PriceSCAN HD-DVD index is off over 38% this year, and in light of Toshiba's decision, a nose dive seems likely as these players join LaserDisc and Betamax on the boulevard of broken video dreams.
The graphs above remind us that the market for tech good goes two ways, both up and down. We've been conditioned to expect only the later type of price action through long periods of innovation and increasing efficiency of production. But the laws of supply and demand are not suspended just because a product contains a microchip. Here we see the power of a pile-on of content providers and vendors to pick out and crystallize a given technological standard (a la the "increasing returns to scale" lock-in theory of W. Brian Arthur) and bolster demand for that technology. Blu-ray's price rise is all the more remarkable in that it is taking place in the context of a slowing economy, when demand for non-essential "luxury" items might be expected to slacken, and that this rally reverses some of the price decline Blu-ray shared with HD-DVD late last year - see "Blu-ray, HD-DVD Prices Falling Like A Gentle Winter Snow (And In High-Def You Can Really See Those Flakes!)."
Then again, as the Fed is rediscovering to its chagrin, prices can go up even as an economy weakens; those raw material prices can be such a pest, no? And while the increased price of Blu-ray is just a drop in the stagflationary bucket, it does demonstrate that more than oil, copper and corn can help drive prices up.
As for early adopters, the Blu-ray contingent can congratulate themselves on saving some money by buying early, while heartbroken HD-DVD loyalists can console themselves with the hope that someday their players might trade as collector's items.

Panasonic TH-50PZ700U
Time Period: 4/16/2007 through 1/21/2008
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

Each moderated its price descent and even appreciated as we moved through the holidays and approached the Super Bowl, and I can't help but wonder if this has something to do with a last minute scramble to equip television rooms with the latest technology prior to the game. This price stabilization has been fairly widespread among flat screen models and manufacturers, as can be seen by examining our composite PriceSCAN LCD and Plasma indices.
Of course, reductions in flat-screen production (especially LCDs) may also be helping to support prices from the supply side. But perhaps, even in the face of looming recession, the American consumer is simply loathe to give up his or her high-definition dreams, especially when they involve watching this country's version of human chess (Hey, the average NFL defensive back is still far more intelligent and articulate then most plastic rooks. So long, Bobby Fisher.) It will be interesting to see if we experience a return to softening prices following this coming Sunday. In the meantime, just be glad science has allowed us to watch these modern gladiators spit out a mouthful of Gatorade in stunning 1080p resolution.

Time Period: 9/3/2007 through 1/7/2008
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

With high-def downloads and VOD breathing down its neck, perhaps Blu-ray manufacturers will have to make these players a more compelling value proposition, lest Sony and its allies find themselves having won themselves sole possession of a high-def technological rout.

Time Period: 9/3/2007 through 12/10/2007
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

With Toshiba's HD-DVD standard perhaps feeling the heat from Blu-ray, HD-DVD players are going for even less. The Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD player has fallen from $300 to under $215 in the last six weeks.

Time Period: 9/24/2007 through 12/10/2007
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

Then again, in the holiday spirit of peace, perhaps you'd like a player that can handle both high-def standards. Both the LG Electronics BH-200 Super Blu Player and the Samsung BD-UP5000 Blu-ray / HD-DVD Combo are being offered by well-known vendors for less than $800. But check availability, as, like peace itself , neither may be immediately obtained.
Oh, and as for Mr. Lipton, he's got a new book out called "Inside Inside", in which you can read about his life and interview subjects, each of the later being more gifted and talented than the last.

Fortunately, GPS prices have moderated significantly this year. Consider for example the Garmin Nuvi 650 Personal Travel Assistant, currently the most popular automotive GPS on this site. Back in April this unit would have cost you at least $500; today merchants are offering it for well under $400.

Time Period: 4/30/2007 through 12/10/2007
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

An even more impressive drop has occurred in the price of the TomTom One XL, falling from a minimum of about $400 to under $250 today.

Time Period: 4/30/2007 through 12/10/2007
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

These and many other GPS units have seen price declines in the days since Thanksgiving, but the magnitude of these reductions may be limited by margin-shrinking price cuts earlier in the year (we could be seeing a similar phenomenon in the flat-screen television market – see "Saving Green on Flat-Screens, After Black Friday"). Following twenty or thirty percent drops over the last eight months, you have to wonder how much lower prices can go this holiday season.

In any case, this is an excellent time to combat rising fuel costs with a newly inexpensive GPS. Then, the next time your environmentally conscious friends start talking about drowning polar bears and barren penguin rookeries while wearily eyeing that Panzer sitting in your driveway, you can point out that you get from point A to point B with all the twelve mile per gallon efficiency modern global positioning technology will allow.

Time Period: 8/6/2007 through 11/12/2007
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

It's a similar story with the Panasonic TH-50PZ700U, the top plasma and second most popular television on this site. Back in April this set was going for at least $3,400; today you can get one for under $2,500.
Time Period: 4/16/2007 through 11/12/2007
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price

Going down the list of televisions on our site, you’ll see the same pattern of 25%-33% price reductions among many of the most sought-after models.
As summer passed into autumn and concern over an end of year slump reached fever pitch, prices on flat screens were slashed repeatedly. These early cuts may limit downside price action as the holiday shopping season progresses, since profit margins may have already been sharply compressed. But come what may, those buying now can be assured they're getting into the flat-screen market at deep discounts to introductory prices.