Lower prices needed to drive tech sales

Technology companies will need to lower prices this year to appeal to consumers, says David Silverberg, managing editor of DigitalJournal.com.

There will be sharp discounts coming this year as companies struggle to sell products to buyers who are watching their cash in the face of the economic downturn.

"So there will be fewer big video-game titles this year because they are costly to produce, and "a lot more simpler games," he predicted. Karaoke-type games that can be played with friends, such as Guitar Hero, will continue to be popular," he said.

But even if consumers do hold back, there will still be new gadgets and applications this year.

"Communications-device companies Research in Motion and Nokia will jump on the applications bandwagon, following the path set by Apple Inc.'s iPhone," Silverberg said.

"GPS on cellphones "will really be huge," while organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs will come on strong, if the price comes down. At the moment, an 11-inch Sony OLED TV costs $2,500," Silverberg said.

"But OLED TVs "trump LCD big time," because the resolution and colours are much better, and they draw less energy," he said.

"Social networking will continue to be popular, and the next step may be corporate use of the sites to connect with customers and link staff," Silverberg predicted. But current users may feel that is an intrusion, he said.

This could be the year of the Blu-ray video format. After it beat out the competing HD format last year, manufacturers could put more money in to marketing and publicity.

"But lowering the cost of the players is key," Silverberg says.