17-inch LCD monitor prices start to fall

BUYERS OF 17-inch LCD monitors could see a price drop of as much as 15 per cent during the second half of this year, according to a senior analyst at display research company Meko.

See Consumers revolt against LCD monitor pricing.

Pete Gamby, senior analyst at Meko, said that prices have got to fall in order to sustain volume.

He said: "Otherwise there will be such a big pile of glass in Taiwan". Recently Chi Mei announced that price drops were likely at an investor's conference.

In fact, according to Gamby, there are indications that large price drops of between 10 to 15 per cent are imminent. Some vendors are starting to offer LCD monitor bundling packages again.

Distributors are also unwilling to take stock unless they're sure they will sell them. And, he said, when you want to move customers over to new technology, such price drops are necessary.

Prices of 15-inch and 17-inch monitors currently suffer from a wide disparity. "You do have to close the delta," he said. Meko estimated that the market could see 10-15% drops in prices in the second half of this year. µ

L'INQ
Meko