Panasonic displays it’s 150 inch HD plasma, which it says it is the world’s largest, at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. (AFP/Getty Images)
I’m surprised there’s still this much fat left to trim off flat panel prices, but market research firm Pacific Media Associates predicts that the average price of a flat panel HD television will drop almost 16 percent this year.
That’s on top of a 14.7 percent drop in prices in 2007.
But despite the big discounts, the growth rate for sales of these flat TVs is expected to cool.
Overall, 113 million flat panel television and business displays are expected to sell worldwide this year, up 41 percent from the roughly 80 million units sold in 2007.
But if that prediction comes true, it would represent a big drop from the 86 percent rise in unit sales in 2007 compared to 2006, and the 89 percent rise in 2006 compared to 2005.
Falling prices coupled with slower growth sounds like bad news for the television industry, but what do I know?
At least there should be plenty of bargains out there for consumers. Although I’m guessing that 150-incher won’t fall into the “bargain” category.
