12 Things That Will Cost Less in 2011
One of the great things about technology is that we can count on prices dropping at a steady clip over time on the things we want most. The more demand, the faster the electronics industry seems to satisfy us with new, cheaper products. Think how different it is for non-electronic items such as milk and cereal, which always seem to go up (see our list of 20 Things That Will Be More Expensive in 2011). We've now proven this mathematically, by sifting through thousands upon thousands of tech deals that we've listed over the past couple of years.
Our price trend data shows how prices dropped on 12 popular items from 2009 to 2010, based on the individual deals we list on our site. Then we keyed up our dealnews experts to find out what low price points you'll likely see in 2011.
Just a note on our process: The data for this analysis is derived from "deals" that were previously listed on dealnews.com. By definition, all deals on dealnews are price-checked, verified offers — "the lowest total price we've seen" — so the data used for dealnews predictions is based on low prices, not average prices. Refurbished deals are excluded. We correct for anomalies like outliers, floor effects and disruptive new technologies that influence pricing trends.
Here's what we found:
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 Blu-Ray Player |
$76 Curtis Mathes Blu-ray Disc Player from Target ($11.83 shipping) |
$50 Samsung BD-C5500 from HP Home & Office (free shipping) |
$39 | You'll probably see a lot of Blu-Ray players bundled as extras with TVs, but you'll also see them as doorbusters and priced like crockpots. |
 Kindle eBook Reader |
$259 Kindle 2 from Amazon.com (free shipping) |
$130 Kindle 3 WiFi from Sobongo.com (free shipping) |
$99 | Because $99 is a major inflection point for consumer adoption, it was always the inevitable price for the Kindle. You'll pay just slightly more for newer models. |
 42" HDTV |
$490 Panasonic VIERA 42" 600Hz 720p Plasma HDTV from Best Buy ($70 shipping) |
$370 Insignia 42" 600Hz 720p Widescreen Plasma HDTV from Best Buy (free shipping) |
$299 | Once they hit $299, 42" LCD HDTVs will destroy the waning market for 32" LCD HDTVs. |
 55" HDTV |
$1,115 LG 55" 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV from Fry's ($110 shipping) |
$699 Element 55" 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV from Walmart (free shipping) |
$599 | 55" LCD HDTV prices are now where 46" LCD HDTVs were in 2008. So, for 2011, we're predicting what we saw for 46" in 2009. |
 Wii System Bundles |
$170 Console Bundle from Conn's (free shipping) |
$150 Console Bundle from Best Buy ($10 shipping) |
$99 | Expect more price drops as new models come out and competition drives down prices. |
 16GB SD Card |
$20 Lexar 16GB Platinum II SDHC Class 4 Card from Adorama.com (free shipping) |
$17 Centon 16GB SDHC Secure Digital Class 4 Card from TigerDirect.com ($2 shipping) |
$12 | Yes, it'll be cheap to pick up a 16MB SD card, but that's because you'll be needing a bigger card before too long for your new, cheap SLR camera. |
 Full-Size Digital SLR Camera |
$346 Pentax K2000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm lens from Meijer ($8 shipping) |
$319 Canon EOS Rebel XS 10MP Digital SLR Camera w/ lens from Barnes & Noble ($5.49 shipping) |
$299 | In 2011, these high-powered cameras will start to cost what point-and-shoots cost a few years ago. Why go for ridiculously high megapixel counts in a digital camera, when you can get a great SLR instead? |
 15" – 16" Dual-Core Laptop |
$299 Dell Inspiron 15n Celeron 2.16GHz 16" Widescreen Laptop from Dell ($29 shipping) |
$218 HP G56-127NR AMD 2.3GHz 16-inch Widescreen Laptop from Fry's ($8 shipping) |
$199 | Last year's $300 laptop is today's cheap grab for those who still want computing power but want to pay what they would for a netbook or a cheap Android tablet. |
 17" Dual-Core Laptop |
$450 Acer Aspire Intel Dual Core 2.1GHz 4GB 17" Widescreen Laptop from Staples (free shipping) |
$450 HP G71 Intel Dual Core 2.2GHz 4GB 17" Widescreen Laptop from Office Depot (in store) |
$399 | This basic desktop replacement, with a dual-core processor and at least 4GB of RAM, will drop even further in price. |
 Portable GPS |
$42 Magellan Roadmate 1200 at Toys 'R' Us ($8 shipping) |
$45 Motorola MOTONAV 3.5" Portable GPS Navigator w/ TTS from Woot ($5 shipping) |
$40 | $40 appears to be the floor in GPS prices. As people have turned to their smartphones and in-car models, portable GPS manufacturers are desperately adding features, driving up prices for new models. |
 External 2TB USB Drives |
$140 Fantom G-Force 2TB eSATA/USB Drive from NewEgg.com (free shipping) |
$90 Fantom Green Drive Pro 2TB eSATA/USB from Buy.com ($7 shipping) |
$50 | 2TB is the new 1TB. Upgrade to one of these and you'll never have to delete a file just to clear up room. |
 iPhone 3GS |
$199 iPhone 3GS from Apple (free shipping) |
$97 iPhone 3GS from Walmart (in store) |
$49 | This price drop is already here! For an 8GB 3GS phone in 2011, at least. Prices will drop for other models, but you'll likely not see the 3GS on sale new for too much longer. |
We also went out with our video camera to the "Big Show" of the National Retail Federation to see what retail experts think about prices going up and down. Here's what they had to say:
Photo Credit: Pansonaut via Flickr.
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