Changing Your Computer

Price had never been this low where a desktop costs only $499, whereas laptops are hovering around $1100. Yet do not forget the $500 Apple mini sub compact laptop or the Apple iBook laptop that sells for $650, and the stripped down $400 after rebate laptops companies like Gateway and eMachine are flooding the market with to make money on volume of sales instead of a high price margin.

The problem is even if the price of PCs plummets the effect is not felt immediately, because people do not rush to change their PC despite the fact they are getting it cheaper, which means the PC turnover rate is low like most durable goods. That might be what is contributing to the declining of prices, as the assumption of the manufacturers might be that if the price goes low enough people might want to change their computer to avail themselves the latest add-ons.

Even the add-ons themselves seem to have reached their zenith some time ago and the latest most alluring gadget that came into existence was CD/DVD RW and every reasonably priced desktop or laptop is equipped with it. However, it does not mean the makers of PCs are not coming up with new functionality, add-ons, and price reductions to woo buyers.

The other recent addition was Wi Fi that got boost from the introduction of Intel's Centrino mobile technology chip and it had added a lot to the mobility of laptops, which can access the Internet wherever hot spots are available. Other than that, the overall performance of PCs despite their plummeting price had improved even if it does not mean that much for all users. The 2.5+ GHz chips could sound lightning fast, but their use is visible only when using them with telephone line. If used with broadband, which is becoming the choice of many, it is not that significant. Although they make a lot of difference on a mobile laptop that could be using Wi Fi.

The storage size, the 80 GB becomes significant when people start downloading music and especially movies. Other than that, it does not usher any significant change for those who are using it for other purposes like the basic day-to-day use. Consequently, some of the latest enhancements are catering for a particular sector of users.

Those who are mobile would like the processor speed to be fast, and those who use their computer for games join them. It is a given that those who are into downloading music and movies want the hard drive to have more room to cram whatever they are downloading. Yet, since there is that capability of RW on most computers, people might choose to burn whatever they are downloading on CDs and that does not only give permanence to whatever they are downloading, but they will free room on their hard drive, which will make having a huge hard drive space less appealing. Bigger businesses with the need for a big storage that are said to have slowed their several years of buying binge have other alternative in servers that play different roles.

What this shows is the battle of PC makers to create new demand for their products is not different than any other durable good manufacturer and the number of new entrants is on the rise too, which will avail new suppliers whose products will be tasted, and if they are found to be better than the existing ones they will take a bite on the market share.

The price of desktops whose price had come down to as low as $499 are not stripped down, bare-bone boxes. These are well functioning computers with all the gadgets users are looking for. Currently, brand name laptops are still hovering around $1000-$1100 area and within a year or two time it is expected that their price will come down to as low as $700, and those that are selling for $500 like the Apple mini sub laptop computer and the stripped down $400 ones might even go further, and whether they will allure more buyers or not remains to be seen. To make the marketing strategy of computer makers a hard act to follow, at the time writing this article, Dell had held a one day sale promotion where Dimension 3000 desk top was selling for $389 after giving out a discount and a rebate and Inspiron 2200 laptop was priced at $559, which shows that they will keep coming up with exotic incentives to sell the machines.

At this point and time what everyone talking about is durability. The question in everyone's mind is which machines are problem free and will last long without developing problems. In addition, which makers of computers are good and quick to do a repair job, and how helpful and efficient their support system is counts a lot. Because, most PCs will develop some kind of a problem within a year time. The standard concerning what almost all PCs should have, in order to be considered fully functional, in relation to what is offered out there, and in their handling of basic day-to-day task is set based on what the manufacturers can avail and on customers' satisfaction. Buyers have come to look at the reliability and durability of the machines more than anything else. The fact that they are popular brand names alone is not sufficient. This sends the message home because people do not want to change their computers on a yearly basis to catch up with the periodic new introductions and add-ons.

Statistics shows that the biggest names in computer manufacturing like Del, HP, and Gateway at least receive between one and two million requests related to their products on a monthly basis. The requests made over the telephone are giving way to customers probing the vendors' Web sites on the Internet where there is a frequently asked question page. In spite of these problems, there are winners among the vendors for those who want to change their PC in the near future.

Apple's popularity is exceptionally high within its limited number of users and it is difficult to compare it with the other machines that are using Windows operating system. However, among PCs that are using the Windows operating system Sony has become the new reliable machine because its machines both the desktop and the laptop rarely need repair. Then of course, there is Dell's desktop both for the house and workplace that delivers more than average satisfaction for the customers money's worth. When it comes to laptops Lenovo/IBM is the best machine to have.

The other household names like HP and Gateway are out there slugging it out and selling good products, but their products are not totally problem free, and HP as usual is leading in the printer business going neck and neck with Canon, another powerhouse when it comes to printers.

Another highly talked about newcomer is Alienware whose desktop is gaining popularity among the gaming crowd. Other less familiar names to do research on when it is time to buy a new computer are Acer, Averatec, and Shuttle that could offer fairly competitive products, whether it is for the house or for the workplace.