Word: flatnesses
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...virtual lock that the magic price point--at which flat-panel TVs switch from being a status symbol of the rich and hip to an everyday feature in American living rooms--will be reached in the near future. That's because the Asian consumer-electronics companies that dominate the flat-panel industry are building too many factories too fast. A glut is in the offing, and while prices have already been falling, more rapid declines are expected. Consulting firm iSuppli Corp. estimates that a 37-in. LCD TV that now retails for more than $4,000 will cost half...
Lofty prices have kept the market for flat-screen TVs small so far. Plasma technology dominates in supersize TVs over 40 in., but plasma will hold only 2% of the U.S. TV market this year. More consumers buy LCD TVs, which are available in a wider range of sizes, but they still only account for less than 10% of the market. Dropping prices will change that, especially with LCD TVs, which manufacturers are gearing up to churn out the fastest. By 2008, 1 of every 3 TVs sold will be an LCD, according to iSuppli. The U.S. is catching...
...look at where LCD-TV prices are headed, wander over to the PC side of your neighborhood electronics store and check out the flat computer monitors. You'll probably find that small LCD TVs are marked up 50% or more, compared with monitors of the same size. LCD TVs often have brighter screens and niftier designs that add to the cost of making them, but the real reason the TVs are more expensive is low volume. With fewer TV sets sold, retailers often tack on higher margins. Prices will also be brought down by competition between LCD and plasma screens...
Lower pricing is only one factor driving consumers toward flat TVs. More and more television programming is offered in high-definition, or HDTV, format, which should boost LCD TV sales. (Traditional TVs can show HDTV programming, but sometimes not as crisply as LCD TVs, which are almost all HDTV ready in larger sizes.) In the not-too-distant future, flat TVs will be hooked up to PCs, which will record movies on a hard-disc drive. And then there's the get-the-neighbors-talking factor. Ritch Wheeler, 33, a sales manager for DaimlerChrysler from Denton, Texas, recently bought...
...cassette player. "In 10 years' time, it'll be embarrassing to have a regular, old-fashioned TV set," says Martin Reynolds, an analyst at technology-consulting company Gartner in Stamford, Conn. If the Asian glut continues, chances are you'll be able to have a flat TV hanging in your living room long before that. --With reporting by Adam Pitluk/Dallas, Laura A. Locke/San Francisco, Coco Masters and Toko Sekiguchi/ Tokyo, and Joyce Huang/Taipei