Lower-than expected consumer demand for large LCD panels, the kind used to make some big-screen HDTVs, is helping to drive their prices down. It looks like Black Friday deals weren't enough to get people spending their holiday money on expensive, larger sets, sparking industry fears that sales will under-perform production to the extent that a surplus of LCD screens will drive prices even father down. The effects of this panic are being felt throughout the marketplaces served by LCD manufacturers; in order to stave off a glut of excess inventory, manufacturers of LCD-based computer monitors have dropped prices 5-6% over the course of December so far. Laptops are also getting price breaks, as the portable appeal of netbooks drives some consumers away from models with larger LCD screens. As a result, those laptops are down in price 2-5% since the beginning of the month.

What does this mean for you? If you held out on picking up a new LCD-based gadget this far, keep your eyes peeled for even greater savings in the new year, with manufacturers clearing out old inventory, and all the new tech coming out at January's CES expo driving down demand for last-year's models. Prices for LCD televisions are already down 3-7%, and until demand spikes back up, or manufacturers adjust their output rates to meet expected market demand, those prices should continue to dip lower for a little while.

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