Telly addicts hunt flat-screens

Flat-screen televisions are going like hot cakes as people rush to ditch the old-fashioned box.

Sales of the HDTVs, which are so thin they can be hung on your wall like a picture, are soaring ahead of Christmas in West Midland shops.

And, as technology improves and supply of the TVs increases, prices are likely to drop substantially.

In fact, LCD and plasma screen prices are dropping so fast that Sony is not happy about its profits being cut.

Prices for liquid crystal display TVs should drop between 25 per cent and 30 percent in the next year. That's between five per cent and seven per cent more than Sony anticipated.

Stan Glasgow, president of Sony Electronics, claims that if prices drop too much, less money can be ploughed into further enhancing television technology in the future.

A variety of factors have played a role in the dramatic price drop. LCD and plasma TV makers are engaged in a turf war for the key 40-inch to 49-inch TV market.

Many manufacturers are also trying to get rid of excess supplies of TVs shipped to Europe in anticipation of a big selling binge before the summer's World Cup football tournament, when not as many sets sold as expected.

It means Sony shops are now selling HDTV sets for as little as £800, and the downward trend is being mirrored in other stores.

Andy Wright, aged 40, pictured, who has been manager of Tylers Gas and Electrics store in Wulfrun Way, Wolverhampton, for 24 years, said people are willing to put their hand in their pocket for the new technology.

He said: "Customers are updating their technology more often these days. A flat screen TV means the house wife gets rid of the box taking up all the space and the husband gets a nice high definition picture. The 50 inch screens are the most popular products in the shop."

By David Banner