Computer Trends E-Zine Issue #001 - Current Computer Market
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) Intro
2) What You Can Expect from Computer Trends
3) Current Computer Market Overview
1) INTRO
Welcome to the 1st issue of Computer Trends. Please add me to your address/contact/allowed/white list to ensure you receive each and every issue of Computer Trends. If you miss any issues I can send you an invite to Gmail(Google's email system). I never miss any e-zines with my Gmail account. Simply reply to this email and let me know that you would like an invite. I'll send it to you within 24 hours.
If you enjoy this newsletter and know other people who are into computers, feel free to forward this issue to them. If you receive this newsletter and are not subscribed, you can sign up for free by following this link: Computer Trends
1) Intro
2) What You Can Expect from Computer Trends
3) Current Computer Market Overview
1) INTRO
Welcome to the 1st issue of Computer Trends. Please add me to your address/contact/allowed/white list to ensure you receive each and every issue of Computer Trends. If you miss any issues I can send you an invite to Gmail(Google's email system). I never miss any e-zines with my Gmail account. Simply reply to this email and let me know that you would like an invite. I'll send it to you within 24 hours.
If you enjoy this newsletter and know other people who are into computers, feel free to forward this issue to them. If you receive this newsletter and are not subscribed, you can sign up for free by following this link: Computer Trends
Computer Trends will arrive in your inbox approximately every 15 days.
2) WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM COMPUTER TRENDS
With this being the 1st issue of Computer Trends I just want to give you an idea of what I'll be covering in this newsletter on a weekly to bi-weekly basis. The main focus will be laptop and desktop computer pricing and styles. I like to track laptop and desktop prices versus the technical specifications we can expect at various price levels. I also like to track what kind of laptops and desktops are becoming popular in terms of size, features, and functionality. Along with general computer model and pricing trends, each issue of Computer Trends will hone in on a specific brand, price range, laptop size, or specialty computer style such as gaming, multimedia, or TV tuner computers.
3) CURRENT COMPUTER MARKET OVERVIEW
General Laptop Pricing: Low and High - I just did a quick price check. The lowest priced laptop I could find is the 7 inch Asus Eee PC with 512 MB system memory and 2 GB hard drive. It's going for $249. The highest priced laptop I could find is a Visionman gaming laptop with a quad-core processor, 4 GB system memory, 400 GB dual hard drives, 512 MB dual video cards, Blu-Ray burner, Bluetooth, webcam, 17 inch screen, and Vista Ultimate. It's going for $6399. Of course thousands of laptop models exist in-between $249 and $6399.
The trend for full-sized laptops(13 inch screen or larger) can be broken down into three general price ranges. First we have the under $500 laptop market which consists of the most basic laptop computers available. Under $500 is where you will still find single-core processors which are really becoming a thing of the past. The trick is to find a sub-$500 laptop with dual-core processor. They do exist and in fact I saw one recently going for $379 that also included 2 GB memory, 160 GB hard drive storage, and a DVD burner. I couldn't believe the price. Sign of things to come perhaps.
The most popular laptop price range is $500 to $1000. We can even bump that up to $1250. This is where the vast majority of laptop computers are currently priced and it's where laptop comparison shopping can really pay off with a great deal. Name a brand and you'll have plenty of models to choose from in the $500 to $1250 range.
The last general price range we can call out is the $1250 and above laptop market. This is where we get into specialty laptops for gaming, entertainment, TV, and design work. System memory and hard drive space don't necessarily increase beyond $1250. What does increase is CPU(processor) speed, dedicated graphics memory, and the number of extra features included on a laptop such as sound cards, Blu-Ray burners, Bluetooth, webcams, and TV tuners. Like I mentioned above there are laptops priced over $6000. I personally expect any laptop priced over $3000 to be "extreme" in terms of features and functionality.
Small Laptop Market - I believe this is the hottest sector of the current laptop market. Asus and Everex kicked things off earlier in 2008 with their 7 inch model-lines. Acer and HP entered the mix and now Dell is out with an 8.9 inch model. I consider any laptop with 12 inch screen size or smaller to be in the compact laptop market. Take note of technical specifications when shopping for small laptops. If you want a DVD/CD burner then you need to be looking at 11 or 12 inch laptops. Anything smaller than that probably doesn't have room for a DVD/CD optical drive. You could always plug in an external drive I guess. Also pay attention to hard drive capacity when looking at small laptops. If you're going to be storing or downloading lots of files then make sure you don't get one of those ultra-small netbooks with 2, 4, 8, or 16 GB hard drives.
Gaming/Multimedia/Extreme Laptop Market - In general we're talking $1250 and above here. I know there are laptops labeled as "gaming" available for under $1000 and those are suitable for casual to semi-serious gamers. However $1250 is where we really get into specialty gaming, multimedia, and design laptops. Again there is a large range of laptop configurations above $1250 since the highest priced models go for close to $6500. It comes down to thinking about what you need and want in your laptop and then finding the best deal based on your requirements.
General Desktop Pricing: Low and High - I also did a price check on desktops and found desktop computers from $189 to $5999. Similar to laptops I see three general price ranges with desktops. First we have the under $300 market consisting of basic desktop computers, most of which have single-core processors and the lowest levels of system memory(512 MB) and hard drive space(80 GB) currently available. The next step is $300 to $1000 which is the most popular desktop price range and therefore where you're going to find the greatest variety of desktop models. Beyond $1000 we're looking at high-level multimedia, gaming, and product design specific desktop computers with a price range that extends to at least $6000. More on high-end desktops just a bit further below.
Desktop Monitor Market - You can find desktop computer package deals that include a desktop, monitor, and printer starting under $400. Take away the printer and you can get under $330. On the same token if you buy a monitor separate you'll end up spending at least $130 on the lowest priced flat-panel LCD monitors available. Prices on desktop package deals and stand-alone monitors centainly go higher, all the way to the tune of $4000.
Gaming/Multimedia/Design/Extreme Desktop Market - Serious gamers and serious multimedia-enthusiasts are looking at probably at least $1000 for a system that will meet their needs and wants. Casual and semi-serious gamers and multimedia fans can start their gaming desktop search around $600. Product designers are definitely concerned with speed, storage capacity, and running multiple complex applications and can therefore expect to spend $2000 or more on an efficient, powerful desktop computer. As with laptops I expect any desktop priced over $3000 to be "extreme" in terms of features and functionality.
That's a wrap for this week. Thanks for taking the time to read this issue of Computer Trends. Enjoy the weekend.
Best Regards,
Jim Polak
Webmaster for Computer Deal Guide
Go to Computer Trends Back Issues
Back to Computer Deals Guide home page
2) WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM COMPUTER TRENDS
With this being the 1st issue of Computer Trends I just want to give you an idea of what I'll be covering in this newsletter on a weekly to bi-weekly basis. The main focus will be laptop and desktop computer pricing and styles. I like to track laptop and desktop prices versus the technical specifications we can expect at various price levels. I also like to track what kind of laptops and desktops are becoming popular in terms of size, features, and functionality. Along with general computer model and pricing trends, each issue of Computer Trends will hone in on a specific brand, price range, laptop size, or specialty computer style such as gaming, multimedia, or TV tuner computers.
3) CURRENT COMPUTER MARKET OVERVIEW
General Laptop Pricing: Low and High - I just did a quick price check. The lowest priced laptop I could find is the 7 inch Asus Eee PC with 512 MB system memory and 2 GB hard drive. It's going for $249. The highest priced laptop I could find is a Visionman gaming laptop with a quad-core processor, 4 GB system memory, 400 GB dual hard drives, 512 MB dual video cards, Blu-Ray burner, Bluetooth, webcam, 17 inch screen, and Vista Ultimate. It's going for $6399. Of course thousands of laptop models exist in-between $249 and $6399.
The trend for full-sized laptops(13 inch screen or larger) can be broken down into three general price ranges. First we have the under $500 laptop market which consists of the most basic laptop computers available. Under $500 is where you will still find single-core processors which are really becoming a thing of the past. The trick is to find a sub-$500 laptop with dual-core processor. They do exist and in fact I saw one recently going for $379 that also included 2 GB memory, 160 GB hard drive storage, and a DVD burner. I couldn't believe the price. Sign of things to come perhaps.
The most popular laptop price range is $500 to $1000. We can even bump that up to $1250. This is where the vast majority of laptop computers are currently priced and it's where laptop comparison shopping can really pay off with a great deal. Name a brand and you'll have plenty of models to choose from in the $500 to $1250 range.
The last general price range we can call out is the $1250 and above laptop market. This is where we get into specialty laptops for gaming, entertainment, TV, and design work. System memory and hard drive space don't necessarily increase beyond $1250. What does increase is CPU(processor) speed, dedicated graphics memory, and the number of extra features included on a laptop such as sound cards, Blu-Ray burners, Bluetooth, webcams, and TV tuners. Like I mentioned above there are laptops priced over $6000. I personally expect any laptop priced over $3000 to be "extreme" in terms of features and functionality.
Small Laptop Market - I believe this is the hottest sector of the current laptop market. Asus and Everex kicked things off earlier in 2008 with their 7 inch model-lines. Acer and HP entered the mix and now Dell is out with an 8.9 inch model. I consider any laptop with 12 inch screen size or smaller to be in the compact laptop market. Take note of technical specifications when shopping for small laptops. If you want a DVD/CD burner then you need to be looking at 11 or 12 inch laptops. Anything smaller than that probably doesn't have room for a DVD/CD optical drive. You could always plug in an external drive I guess. Also pay attention to hard drive capacity when looking at small laptops. If you're going to be storing or downloading lots of files then make sure you don't get one of those ultra-small netbooks with 2, 4, 8, or 16 GB hard drives.
Gaming/Multimedia/Extreme Laptop Market - In general we're talking $1250 and above here. I know there are laptops labeled as "gaming" available for under $1000 and those are suitable for casual to semi-serious gamers. However $1250 is where we really get into specialty gaming, multimedia, and design laptops. Again there is a large range of laptop configurations above $1250 since the highest priced models go for close to $6500. It comes down to thinking about what you need and want in your laptop and then finding the best deal based on your requirements.
General Desktop Pricing: Low and High - I also did a price check on desktops and found desktop computers from $189 to $5999. Similar to laptops I see three general price ranges with desktops. First we have the under $300 market consisting of basic desktop computers, most of which have single-core processors and the lowest levels of system memory(512 MB) and hard drive space(80 GB) currently available. The next step is $300 to $1000 which is the most popular desktop price range and therefore where you're going to find the greatest variety of desktop models. Beyond $1000 we're looking at high-level multimedia, gaming, and product design specific desktop computers with a price range that extends to at least $6000. More on high-end desktops just a bit further below.
Desktop Monitor Market - You can find desktop computer package deals that include a desktop, monitor, and printer starting under $400. Take away the printer and you can get under $330. On the same token if you buy a monitor separate you'll end up spending at least $130 on the lowest priced flat-panel LCD monitors available. Prices on desktop package deals and stand-alone monitors centainly go higher, all the way to the tune of $4000.
Gaming/Multimedia/Design/Extreme Desktop Market - Serious gamers and serious multimedia-enthusiasts are looking at probably at least $1000 for a system that will meet their needs and wants. Casual and semi-serious gamers and multimedia fans can start their gaming desktop search around $600. Product designers are definitely concerned with speed, storage capacity, and running multiple complex applications and can therefore expect to spend $2000 or more on an efficient, powerful desktop computer. As with laptops I expect any desktop priced over $3000 to be "extreme" in terms of features and functionality.
That's a wrap for this week. Thanks for taking the time to read this issue of Computer Trends. Enjoy the weekend.
Best Regards,
Jim Polak
Webmaster for Computer Deal Guide
Go to Computer Trends Back Issues
Back to Computer Deals Guide home page
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