Hi Brian!
Went to the Grand Opening of the Fry's store here in Austin yesterday and looked at electronics. (They have about $40 million in inventory there, but are doing a land-office business, with 50 of their 70 checkouts manned!) I especially looked for flat-panel monitors for my computers. I didn't buy, but it is apparent that there are several models at good prices. Not directly comparable to CRT systems yet in size/cost ratio, but the gap is closing.
And the quality of the displays! Very nice.
Of course, the one I fell in love with was a bit out of my price range; only $8,000 to walk away with one. It was much wider than tall, about 30-some inches across, and very clear and bright. Ran at 1920x1200 resolution, and you had to get very close and squint to see the pixels. I toyed with it for quite a while, then became depressed by the price tag and went home....
I think the US market will grow suddenly for these displays of about 17 inch size. They have about the same viewing area as the 19" CRTs, and are often brighter now. And only about $100 more expensive, on average. That's a small price to pay for the desktop space, in many businesses. Add to that the appeal of having leading-edge technology and you've got a market winner, imho.
Mitch |
