
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- 13-year-old David Hessler finally found a laptop computer that both he and his mother agree on. He likes the features but his mom likes it because of the $500 price tag.
Market Analyst Garrett Schwitzer says this is the latest trend in electronics. New products aimed at budget conscience shoppers looking for good quality, less frills and better values.
The failing economy has tighten many budgets. But people are still buying electronics. The change is they are demanding good quality products at new lower prices.
"It's imperative to lower costs if you can," says Schwitzer. "It's something that is on every business manager's mind in this industry. And now you have a consumer who is also putting a vast amount of pressure on manufacturers to come up with something they can afford when they have less in their wallets."
Digital cameras are among the products with slashed prices. "You are seeing cameras on the market from major manufacturers now for under $200 for the first time ever."
Nancy Edwards bought a Sony Cybershot and says she is getting more bang for her buck than a year ago.
"If it gets damaged you aren't going to worry about it because it didn't cost a thousand dollars," says Edwards.
All of the big manufacturers are jumping in. Even Apple dropped the price of it's shuffle to $49 from $79.
Consumers can also get a video recorder for about $150. The Flip video camera offers a cheap way to take videos and upload them to the web.
Debbie Hessler says the prices are such good deals right now, she may even buy two laptop computers for what used to be the price of one.
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Created: 10/7/2008 7:37:43 AM 


