RSSAverage Laptop Price Below $1,000
By Ed Oswald | Published September 1, 2005, 1:03 PM
Since 2001, the average cost of a laptop computer has fallen 39 percent, from $1,640 to $1,000 this year, according to a recent survey completed by the Wall Street Journal. The reason behind the falling prices is rising demand for laptops, mainly driven by the college market, as well as cheaper component prices.
According to college polling firm Student Monitor, about three out of every four people of college age planning to buy a computer within 12 months are expecting to opt for a laptop. A possible reason for the spike in demand among college students could be the greater presence of wireless Internet on college campuses.
It would be nice if Apple reduced the price of its PowerBook line of computers - perhaps it'll happen when they switch to Intel...
Score: 0
|Indeed for the wireless on campus. And indeed for the laptop on campus. Just bought new laptop for uni. Means i don't have to rely on the library computers and can do work pretty much where i like.
Score: 0
|I dunno what it is in America, but here in Aus, you can get some very good laptops for under 1000.
Of course, not worth it if it's not a P4 or a mobile pentium or something ^_^
Score: 0
|Brand new Toshiba
40 gig HD
INtel Celeron 2.80GHz
256 MB RAM
Xp Home
LAN/Modem
64MB video
15.4" screen
Price: $449.99 after rebates
Score: 0
|Brand new 15.4" Acer
AMD Sempron 3400+
80GB HD
512mb memory
64mb SIS video.
DVD/CD-RW combo drive
Built in LAN/WAN/Modem
XP Home
Price: $800CND after tax ( < $600USD )
Yeah, if you're smart and know where to look(and get an AMD), you can get lappies pretty cheap.
Score: 0
|Compaq R4125US
AMD64 3500+
512MB RAM
100GB IDE
128MB ATI Xpress 200m
6 in 1 card reader
15.4" Wide aspect screen @ 1280x800
8x DVD+-RW/DL
Gig nic
802.11g
$950 after rebates.
This is a machine.
Score: 0
|almost sold me on that one, want bigger screen though
Score: 0
|How odd. I buy for businesses and we start pricing at $1500, and that is without essential laptop accesories. People must really get the crappiest models. I feel Sorry for ya'll!
Score: 0
|Are you getting a dock, tons of software and a 5 year warranty? The last laptop I bought for work (17" Compaq, 3GHz, 60GB, 1GB RAM, 256MB video, 8x DVD+/- Burder, XP Pro) only ran $1,750 and I consider that (at the time) to be the top of the line. Most average laptops that I help people buy from the major manufacturers run about $1,200 usually.
Score: 0
|so rising demand = lower prices? that must be why gas is so expensive. nobody wants the stuff.
Score: 0
|lol, good point.
Score: 0
|It also work the other way. If too many people want it the price goes up. Supply and demand.
Score: 0
|Wow school1012, daze was being sarcastic... geese people sure shine with brilliance
Score: 0
|You're not thinking about the nature of the market. For gas, the supply is fairly fixed (they are already pumping pretty much all they can right now). Thus as demand goes up, they can charge more because they'll still sell it all even at the increased price.
To produce a computer, you need a factory, a supply chain, etc. The cost to get to a point where you can produce a single laptop probably costs on the order of at least several million dollars. But the additional cost of producing additional laptops might only be a few *hundred* dollars. Thus the greater the demand, the more can be produced resulting in less *on average*, up to the limit of the capacity of the factory. Once this is reached, the price will begin to climb again.
A hypothetical example:
Computer factory costs $10 M
Per computer manufacture cost: $500
Cost per computer if the factory produces...
1 computer: $10,000,500
10 computers: $1,000,500
100 computers: $100,500
1,000 computers: $10,500
10,000 computers: $1,500
100,000 computers: $600
1,000,000 computers: $510
with a lower limit of the the manufacture cost per computer ($500 in this case) as the number of computers produced increases.
Also, don't forget the article also mentioned "cheaper component prices"; so not only is the demand increasing in an unsaturated market, but the per unit production cost is declining. Great for consumers :)
Score: 0
|Are Tablets included in this list? I know Alot of people that are going back to school getting tablets
Score: 0
|have you ever used a tablet? I kind of think they're junk ... and that's coming from a guy that would love a PocketPC or a nicer Palm (I've got a Zire but DEzire something better/nicer)
Score: 0
|Yes I have used Tablets, and they are amazing. Most students I know bought one and have never looked back. The only problem I have with them is the are expensive.
Score: 0
|