why are some laptops soooo dirt cheap these days?

[deeplove]

some large companies are selling laptops for considerably less than a thousand dollars plus tax.. why why why??
rmember like 3 years ago laptops were 3000$+ and they weren't that good.. hehe...
seems like the average people spend these days is like $1300..slowly decreasing.

[itsmypostoffice]

many factors influence pricing and you'll find many different answers. generally, the cost of Chip manufacturing has dropped significantly. but more importantly, the remaining laptop/desktop manufacturers are jockeying for market-share. desktop sales have stalled in recent years and companies have looked for alternate channels. PDA, Phones, even Printers...

what you should remember however is that high-quality products still command a higher price. sure, $3000 are hard to find nowadays but anything in the $1500-$2200 offers fantastic innovations that a $799 CeleronM can't provide. battery life, Tru bright LCD, XP PRO all this costs money and they rarely go on sale. when was the last time you saw a Thinkpad X series being discounted (on RFD or anywhere else?). it's usually dell selling B120/1300 or the Inspiron6000 series -- very good for your money but not even close to Latitude series or their ultralight line.

give another few months when this Core Duo mess has been cleared up and prices will drop again. market segment and price point will remain in place: this means a high-end laptop will still be significantly more expensive (relative to entry-level). $3000+ laptops are gone like the dinosaurs unless a dimm manufacturing plant blows up.

--> buy for your current needs within your budget. everything depreciates but smart shopping will reduce your loss.

[divx]

simple, supply and demand:

1. technology is getting better, so they can produce at a lower cost,

2. most people already have pc / lappy, so the incentive of upgrade is dropping.

[coopaloop]

See how cheap they are to fix when they break down on you..

[haotj]

some large companies are selling laptops for considerably less than a thousand dollars plus tax.. why why why??
rmember like 3 years ago laptops were 3000$+ and they weren't that good.. hehe...
seems like the average people spend these days is like $1300..slowly decreasing.

Well, some "dirt cheap" laptops are literally dirt.

[Anessa]

The good stuff still costs a pretty penny, just not as much pennies as 2-3 years ago. BUT when you spend on a laptop you know that it's going to drop relatively quick from the pruchase price...same goes for cars and other electronics.

[akito925]

I'm waiting for thoses $100 budget laptops I'd keep reading about all over the internet..

[synaptech]

I'm waiting for thoses $100 budget laptops I'd keep reading about all over the internet..

I think MIT's $100 laptop research dept is secretly waiting for a Dell pricing error :)

[coriolis]

Pretty much, you buy what your pay for :)

[rfdrfd]

Exactly. But higher end ones: IBM, Toshiba still sell for higher price. But you are right, an equivalent top of the line Toshiba back 3 yrs ago was well over $2500-3000 + tax.

Now would be like $1200-1800 + tax.