Competition heats up in the thin-TV space
There are some industry analysts claiming that a price war is breaking out in the market for plasma and LCD-based "thin" televisions. I'm not sure this is really a "price war" or simply the start of some real competition.
A lot of consumer electronics suffer from deliberate price-inflation during the first few years, as manufacturers try to extra higher margins from consumers willing to pay a premium for new products. Take DVD players -- the first 3 years they were out, they ran $300 or more, but they've now dropped to sub-$100 now that everyone willing to pay more than that has already bought one. The price hasn't dropped because of a price war, or because it's gotten much cheaper to build them (and it's not a volume issue either.) It's gotten lower because there aren't people out there willing to pay $300 for one any more, so to maintain volume you have to lower the price.
LCD/plasma televisions are almost certainly about to start on that same downwards road. They've largely saturated company conference rooms, fancy sports bars and that one guy you know who is willing to spend $6000 on his television (and Ian, I don't say that to knock you.)
I was at Circuit City in Union Square on Thursday buying a Tivo 2 (far and away my favorite consumer electronics product, having owned a Tivo 1 for years.) I noticed they're now doing something very smart -- offering free wall installation for people who buy plasma televisions. I'm glad they figured out this has been a major question for people considering buying one.
Given how valuable New York real estate is, Manhattan should be the best market in the world for a television that takes up no floor space at all. I know I'm going to be in the market for one, probably within a year.