Model Chaos, Decide

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS MODEL CHAOS Newer, better gadget models are coming out all the time. If you don't know where you are in the "model cycle," the new product you're buying might become "old" overnight. Newer versions are released constantly. (statistics below represent averages, based on 2010 data) Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday A new laptop is released every 4 hours A new TV is released A new camera is released every 15 hours every 45 hours Release cycles for new versions have patterns and are predictable. 400 300 200 Laptops 100 TVs New Models Released in 2010 Cameras Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Laptop releases vary wildly by manufacturer and model, but they come out in predictable spurts. Chances are that "Black Friday" doorbuster deal on a TV or camera might not be such a great deal after all. It might be more expensive than the new and improved model that comes out two months later. More than half of all new TVs and cameras are released during the first four months of the year. (2010 data, 55% of TVs and 57% cameras released Jan-Apr) You could get burned buying an outdated model. Newer versions are often better AND cheaper. The list price of new models often comes down, so getting a heavily discounted price on the old version might not be a good deal at all! $3,899.95 High-end 47" TV line, by LG List Price $2,699.00 $1,899.00 $2,499.99 $1,999.95 $1,399.00 $1,243.79 $1.465.44 Price as of June 2011 2008 2009 2010 2011 47LW6500 - 47" 3DTV 47LG90 - 47" TV 47LH90 - 47" TV 47LX6500 - 47" 3DTV ED "Cinema 30" reduces flicker, eye strain, and headaches, HEAD making the picture and 3D ACHES effect better (Active Shutter 3D became Passive Shutter 3D). Smoother, clearer picture, 3D! reduced motion blur and P Internet-ready and supports apps like Netflix, Pandora, and media streaming from other devices. ghosting, especially for sports and video games. Intelligent sensor automatically optimizes picture to lighting conditions. SmartTV adds more apps and a LED Plus for better contrast, clarity, and color detail. web browser. Wii-like remote New versions often not only have a lower price, but also double the features. control. Refresh rate doubled (120HZ » 240HZ) Pixel response improved (2.7ms » 2.4ms) Contrast ratio doubled (IM:1 » 2M:1) Contrast ratio quadrupled (2M:1 » 8M:1) Contrast ratio increased (8M:1 » 9M:1) WWW.DECIDE.COM Sources: The Decide data vault, leveraging proprietary analysis of product lifecycles and billions of price observations: Wikipedia: LG: CNet: Amazon.com decide.