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Laptops Outsell Desktops in Retail Stores

TechnoPope writes "According to this article on MSNBC.Com, laptop computers accounted for 54 percent of of 500 Million in retail computer sales last year. Also mentioned was that LCD's outsold CRT's in retail as well. "

16 of 347 comments (clear)

  1. Same article, different format by krs-one · · Score: 4, Informative

    Pretty much the same article on CNN, but a little nicer format with less intrusive ads: CNN's article

    -Vic

  2. Slight Increase in Price? by temojen · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm not sure what planet you're from, but where I'm from a 17", 1600x1200 CRT retails for ~$279CDN, and a 17", 1600x1200 LCD retails for ~$890CDN.

    To me, 3x is not a slight difference in price.

  3. Re:CRTs still being made by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    For a slight increase in price you have a massive boost in clarity, stunning resolutions, and brilliant bright displays

    Umm...show me an LCD that does 1600*1200*32bit at anything above 72hertz for a slight increase in price. I do animation ... and for cost effectiveness, CRT is still better than LCD (speaking in terms of price/performance).

  4. Re:Outsold in dollars not units. by The+Grinner · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ummm. . . Actually if you were paying attention to the article you'll see that at least with the LCD's they seem to be refering to % of total sales not the value of said sales. (i.e. In May 2002, LCDs were only 22 percent of total monitor sales, said NPD. This past May, that more than doubled to 52 percent.) Admitidly though the article was a bit more ambiguous with the PC/Laptop sales and I can see how that one could be read either way.

  5. LCD's are cheap by vasqzr · · Score: 5, Informative


    I got an email from TigerDirect today.

    LCD specials

    14" for $159
    15" for $219
    17" for $319

    Do we see 17" LCD's for $249 this Holiday season?

    LCD's are great for multiple monitor set ups, your desk doesn't collapse like with CRTs. Then again, your colors don't quite match up either...

    1. Re:LCD's are cheap by stratjakt · · Score: 3, Informative

      We do multi-LCD demos on the road, our software uses 3 concurrent screens. They match up fine IF you buy 3 of the exact same make and model and production run.

      One of our demo screens died, and we pretty much wound up replacing all three, because the replacement (same make and model) didnt match color-wise.

      LCDs are nice desktop displays for most work. But the fixed resolutions, ghosting, and color problems will keep CRTs around for a while to come. They're a slowly expanding niche market, IMO.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    2. Re:LCD's are cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      You must not be using a Mac....

      If I simply run through the color sync wizard built into OS X, I can make a frickin' NTSC [never the same color twice] television match the LCD in my mac. Two LCDs are trivial as are an LCD and a CRT.

  6. Re:Homebuilts - by mercuryresearch · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's a very small number. I research this stuff for a living, and 2% of people with PCs even open the case to upgrade graphics cards each year. Building your own system was less than 1% of PCs a few years ago, and that's when you actually saved money with DIY PCs.

    With system prices now, unless you have components to reuse, it actually costs you money to build it yourself (i.e. buying a prebuilt Dell is cheaper than the prices of the components bought individually in low quantities.) Of course there are other (better) reasons to build your own system than just the money involved.

  7. No it's not. by The+Grinner · · Score: 5, Informative

    I can see how it's sort of ambiguous in the original article, if however you go to the NPD web site you can read their original press release where it's actually clear that they are refering to # of units sold for LCD's. It also turns out though that they are indeed refering to percentage of money for Desktop/Laptop sales.

  8. Re:Outsold in dollars not units. by Snags · · Score: 3, Informative
    The article did seem vague. But going to NPD's press release on the study, the Desktop/Laptop numbers were for dollars while the CRT/LCD numbers were for units. I am duly impressed with LCDs.

    Now, I'll be impressed when there are more LCDs in use than CRTs.

    --
    main(O){10<putchar((O--,102-((O&4)*16| (31&60>>5*(O&3)))))&&main(2+ O);}
    LN2 is cool!
  9. One reason for this by El · · Score: 2, Informative

    If I buy something with an LCD screen, I want to see it fired up first with an all black, then an all white screen to make sure none of the pixels are defective (yes, my current laptop has 1 green pixel that is on all the time, and it's annoying as heck!) Don't have this problem with CRTs...

    --

    "Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney

  10. Re:Haven't had it long, have you? by Sanction · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yep, and I'll be playing games at a friends house, answering my email while sitting at the beach, and enjoy the ability to not be chained to one location by a gigantic box when I want to work on my PC :)

    Then I'll buy another one, with the same money I could have used for desktop upgrades, without having to suffer the intervening years with lack of portability.

    --
    Well I'm the doctor and I say you're dead, so shut up and take it like a man!
  11. Re:Unsatisfied customers! by MoOsEb0y · · Score: 2, Informative

    Actually, I bought a LCD at the beginning of May, and I am quite satisfied with it. There's only a slight pixel lag which is most noticeable when scrolling webpages. (No joke!) I can't even notice the lag when playing games or movies. As for the viewing angle, I have no problems whatsoever. I can look at my screen from pretty much anywhere and have no problems.

    20 watt power consumption, reduced heat radiation, and smaller footprint on my desktop all while having sharper text than before? Sign me up :D

  12. Re:A hidden reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Hans Lipperhey of Middelburg invented the telescope in October 1608. Galileo did not construct one until June or July 1609. These dates are even more difficult to ensure since Sidereus Nuncius was not published until March 1610. Regardless, any advantage that Galileo had in terms of quality or power was lost by 1611. Maybe he was a pervert, but like most perverts he was only creative with known tools.

  13. Re:LCDs outselling CRTs? by dago · · Score: 2, Informative

    In most (big enough) companies, desktop pc are standardized and administrated as a bunch of them. You can usually walk to any desk and get your dekstop and files there. No need to move them.

    Smaller Form Factor : did you saw SFF pc from dell/compaq (for the OEM) ? ever heard about shutlle barebones (for the DIY) ?

    --
    #include "coucou.h"
  14. Re:BAAAAAA by steveg · · Score: 3, Informative

    Eh? Your laptop is good for what, an hour? Hour-and-a-half max if you are actually doing anything? Big deal.

    When this laptop was new, I regularly got 3-4 hours of constant use out of it. I wasn't doing multimedia, etc., just coding, but it *was* constant use. The battery has gotten a bit more wear on it, and I'm lucky to break 2 1/2 hours these days. Still, that's a lot better than an hour.

    And its portability means I can work on the patio at my favorite coffee shop or where ever I prefer.

    --
    Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.