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. "

Comments

Same article, different format

[krs-one]

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

-Vic

Slight Increase in Price?

[temojen]

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.

LCD's are cheap

[vasqzr]

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...

Re:LCD's are cheap

[stratjakt]

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.

Re:Homebuilts -

[mercuryresearch]

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.

No it's not.

[The Grinner]

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.

Re:Outsold in dollars not units.

[Snags]

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.

Re:BAAAAAA

[steveg]

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.