Nothing To Buy

I'm not sure if it is a function of knowing too much, the products not being quite right, or just a down economy having me skittish. However, for the time being, I just can't seem to buy anything, even with Black Friday just around the corner.

For example, we can start with Blu-ray players. Nope, never bought one. I am still using my DVD player, a Sharp, from 2001. Sure I might like one. While the prices have come down, of course, the longer I wait, my expectations go up. Now, not only do I want the player, but also something that can play NetFlix, and YouTube, oh and Hulu would be great too. Never mind nothing does the Hulu part, but hey, I can hope, right. Clearly the $149 Blu-ray at Wal-Mart is not gonna do it.

Move on to a new HDTV. This time I'd like a 32" LCD. 720p is ok, but I would like for it to not only offer awesome picture quality, but also be internet connected. I've accepted that whatever TV I buy will be the last one for several years. Hence, I want it to be the very latest and greatest. Last year, very little new came out in this area, just some mild incremental improvements. Therefore, I've skipped over this purchase for a year, and wait to see if anything piques my interest at CES this year.

On to GPS gear. I would like a new one, but not truly need it. My maps are from 2005, but with the cost of the update, I could just put it towards a new unit. With MSN getting ready to abandon their service, the GPS companies have to be doing something to make their units better without it. I also notice that Garmin hasn't come out with something for a while which adds to the curiosity. There are units that have free ad supported traffic now, but I'm wondering what the next big thing will be. Network traffic like the Dash Express pioneered? Time based traffic patterns? Better integration to Google Maps? Or something even better? Yup, keeping the wallet closed on this as well.

Which leads us to netbooks. I would love one that could do the following: all day battery, 11" screen, non Win XP OS, can display PDF's, under 3 pounds, and decent processing power. By decent, I mean faster than my Athlon XP-M 2200+ processor, which the current N270 is not, and the Z520 is even more notches slower. Oh, and before you suggest a CULV, I would like this unit to cost around $250 or so. Ok, this might be a pipe dream, but I want something powerful enough to justify lugging it around, but cheap enough that I won't be heartbroken if it disappears. It is not a matter of being careful, but there are times when I just can't have it with me at all times at work. While I've been watching for a sale, I realize that what I want is just not happening for now. Once again, I've gotta wait as the coming wave of smartbooks may fulfill most of this, although, I may have to go to a 10" screen. Check out the video below to see what should be coming in the next several months that may eat the current crop of netbooks for lunch.



At any rate, for now, it just appears that there is nothing quite right to purchase. Perhaps it is just me, or the greater economic times. Here's hoping to better stuff in 2010!

Jonas

NudgeCast 6/17/08

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Thoughts on the iPhone, cell phone pricing, Blu-ray, WiFi, and useful site: Billshrink.

Download the mp3 here.

Change In Strategy?

After this year's CES, it was pretty clear the Blu-Ray had trounced rival format, HD DVD, in the competition to become the next gen' disc format. In the following weeks, the HD DVD camp basically imploded, rolled over, and picked up their tent and went home. That left Blu-Ray as the clear winner in an ending that no one could have predicted.

After years of waiting for a clear winner, have folks raced over the Best Buy to finally get their hands on pure 1080p goodness? Apparently not in droves, as in this slower economy, not too many are willing to pony up the $400 plus that it would take to get one of these babies into their home AV rack. Also, many are satisfied with their current DVD player, and for those of us with a less than 40" TV, it's probably "good enough" for now.

So, what's Sony's strategy to get us to buy an overpriced player in the 2nd quarter of this year? Typically, companies use a "razor and blades strategy" to transition us to a new format. That's how the game box companies work: buy the box at a modest fee, and then overpay ridiculously on the content (each disc). However, the time tested strategy probably wouldn't work with Blu-Ray because many of us would buy the subsidized box, just use it as a fancy DVD upscaler, and not acquire any Blu-Ray discs. So, Sony needs a different approach.

I think they're reversing the "razor and blades" gimmick. Give out the blades for free basically, and then us consumers need something to use them with. Give out the product for free? How could that be?

Well, it's not exactly free, but the Blu-Ray discs are typically around double the price at most stores to purchase. Clearly a premium product carries a premium. However, someone must be subsidizing these discs because NetFlix has the Blu-Ray discs available for rental at the same price as the DVD's. Also, this week, Blockbuster announced that they will have Blu-Ray available at their stores for the same price as the older DVD format nationally.

I think this is a good strategy. When consumers see a disc at ubiquitous Blockbuster for rental, they're going to have exposure to the format. Also, there are many of us that will want to acquire the gear as they can't stand not being able to play a format, and don't want to be left out. While I'm not rushing out to buy a Blu-Ray player, and want the price to come out of the sky and under $200 before I seriously look at purchasing anything, I think that giving away the "blades for free" should get this format into many homes- just not mine.

Jonas

Who Really Won the High Definition DVD War?

With the dust settling on the next generation disc format wall settling, not all of us are thrilled with the Blu-ray outcome. While Bill bought an HD DVD player, I also thought that HD DVD was to be "the standard." Our very own Bear emerges from his den after a winter worth of hibernation to weigh in on the issue. With the studios bailing on making new HD DVD discs, I think the reality is that Blu-Ray is here to stay. However, like VHS defeating Betamax, let's not pretend that it was the superior format. Also, at current prices, the Blu-Ray gear is also more expensive.

Jonas
Well, they say the war is over, and Blu-Ray is the winner! I will be honest, I really thought for several reasons, HD-DVD would be the clear winner in the end. Maybe they will be……

My reasons for selecting HD-DVD format were clear. The players were cost much less. Where Blu-Ray was $499 and up, HD-DVD was $299! When I looked at the movie selections, I really like the selection HD-DVD had compared to the titles Blu-Ray was offering. The Toshiba HD-A2 had an Ethernet port so you could update the player’s firmware and get additional content regarding the movie off the internet. The Combo-Disc, a disc that had both the HD version AND the standard definition versions of the movie on the other side made a lot of sense. HD-DVD players played standard DVD’s.

Well, it seems Sony was not about to lose this war like they did to VHS with there Betamax video cassette player. In that war I selected Betamax! Again it made sense. It actually had a higher quality picture and was in a smaller housing. Wrong, VHS wins and I sit there scratching my head and asking why? Did Sony make deals with studios? Does it really matter?

The quality of a High Definition DVD played on a 32” TV is hard to see at a distance of 6 feet or further. Consumers with larger monitors will indeed see an increase in quality. Many consumers may actually decide that the quality of a standard definition DVD is acceptable when weighing the additional cost of Blu-ray discs and a new player!

The competition between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray was actually good for the consumer. It encouraged price discounts and pushed the advancement of the technology. The days of the CD are numbered, what to think that the same might be true of the DVD and Blu-Ray formats? In a few short years, the standard for all audio and video content we watch may very well be sent to our home via the internet and with advancements in compression the storage media may be a chip. Do you know where you music is tonight?

One things for sure, things won’t stay as they are…..

Bear

NudgeCast 2/18/08

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Talk on the winner of the next gen optical disc, Zune software shortcomings, printer advice on when to dump it, and Wisebread.com.