Word: flatted
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...Industry analysts say it may take several years before prices fall into a marketplace sweet spot, where buyers see the advantages of flat-screen TVs as worth the premium they command compared with conventional boob tubes. But competitive forces are already in play that could make that day come sooner rather than later. The prospect of hundreds of millions of TV viewers dumping their old sets and going flat has drawn the world's most innovative consumer electronics companies into the market, among them Sony of Japan and Samsung of South Korea. At the same time, manufacturers are pushing...
...Prices have already declined markedly over the last 18 months. In November, U.S. computer maker Gateway jumped into the flat-TV market with the first 42-inch plasma model selling for less than $3,000, undercutting existing brands by at least $1,000. Paul O'Donovan, senior analyst at consulting firm Gartner Dataquest, predicts that by the end of 2004, lcd TVs at sizes under 20 inches may cost just $50 more than comparable crts. Prices in general are expected to fall by at least 20% a year for the next several years...
...With each decrease comes a surge in new buyers. According to U.S. market research firm iSuppli/Stanford Resources, sales of flat-screen TVs will double in 2002 to nearly 1.7 million units and will reach 12 million by 2005. "Soon, people won't buy the old TVs anymore," predicts Gary Yuen, a salesman at a Fortress electronics store in Hong Kong...
...Yuen's forecast may be overly optimistic. Conventional sets still account for 96% of TV sales. More than 150 million are sold every year. But the days of the space-hogging picture tube do seem numbered. In smaller sizes, flat screens can fit into places where crts simply won't go, such as in a bookshelf or on a kitchen countertop. At the other end of the size spectrum, jumbo wall-mounted flat-screens are ideal for cinema-like home theater systems?and displays keep getting bigger. LG.Philips lcd recently announced a prototype for a 52-inch model that will...
...manufacturers will survive the shift to flat-screen technology. The TV business is being revolutionized, and that's "a great thing for our industry," says Bruce Berkoff, an executive vice-president at LG.Philips lcd. But profit margins are getting thinner in the push to lower prices. Ultimately, "very few players will benefit," Berkoff says. For consumers lusting after the electronics industry's hottest product, though, the picture can only get bigger and brighter...