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The Wall Street Journal

Gadgets Priced For Frugal Times

June 02, 2008

The Wall Street Journal "Kurt Scherf, an analyst with Parks Associates, a market-research firm, says that one of its surveys of U.S. households with Internet connections found that 35% of the 1,090 households where members originally planned to buy a high-definition TV set this year would be delaying the purchase, with the economy getting the blame. That's one reason Sony Corp. recently said it would introduce more "entry-level" TV sets this year that cost between $500 and $1,200 -- that's about $200 less than Sony's premium line of TV sets. And Samsung just cut the prices on part of a new line of flat panels by $200."

"Retailers are also pushing the price down on Blu-ray DVD players, which sell for $550 on average, according to Parks Associates."

"Mr. Scherf of Parks says Father's Day will be another test of consumers' threshold for electronics prices, but he adds that analysts and industry executives will be watching what happens later in the fall as the holidays approach. "If gas prices remain the way they are and the economy continues to sputter along, I would be very worried come October or November," he says. "

From the article, "Gadgets Priced For Frugal Times" by Christopher Lawton

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