30" Cinema Display pricing

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I'm about to purchase a 30" ACD for my business, but I'm a little concerned that they've been the same price since launch (which was about a year ago) and that they might be about to drop on price?



I always seem to manage to purchase Apple kit just before it drops in price or is replaced by a machine twice as fast.



Anybody care to hazard a guess as to when the displays might drop in price?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    I would venture a guess that the 30" displays will not drop in price anytime soon, if at all. I do not see anything larger than 30" for the desktop, so these will probably be the top-of-the-line for quite some time and will remain at their current price.
  • Reply 2 of 13
    Don't forget, two 23" displays cost the same as one 30"...you're probably aware of that, it still kind of amazes me though.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by SerpentFruit

    Don't forget, two 23" displays cost the same as one 30"...you're probably aware of that, it still kind of amazes me though.



    It's not really that much of something to be amazed with.



    The 30" display has almost twice as many pixels and has almost twice the physical display area. The remaining 12% difference can be attributed to the fact it is a top-of-the-line product (with no competition, I'll add), and I think making such a large panel with so many pixels without defects is quite tough.



    The diagonal size is decieving because it's not linear relationship, for example, a 30" widescreen has four times the area as a 15" widescreen display, though the number itself is only doubled.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    Just like pizzas. The pizza people prey on the mathetically challenged.
  • Reply 5 of 13
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    The 30" display is the only display for me, so I'm not concerned about how it holds up against the other ACDs in the value for money stakes. What I am concerned about, is that the 30" has been the same price since its launch.



    When the 23" was King o' the Hill, it stayed at the same price for an extended period and then almost halfed in price over night. A nice situation to find yourself in if you are looking to buy one, a not so nice situation if you had just bought one.



    I don't particularly wish to find myself in the 'not so nice' situation. I'd like to buy a 30"er, but I have this nagging feeling that it's about to drop in price.
  • Reply 6 of 13
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Messiah

    The 30" display is the only display for me, so I'm not concerned about how it holds up against the other ACDs in the value for money stakes. What I am concerned about, is that the 30" has been the same price since its launch.



    Close, but not quite. The launch price was $3299.



    Scroll down to the display section
  • Reply 7 of 13
    The 30" Cinema Display is not the same price since it's launch. Originally it was priced at $3,299 but about 2-3 months after it's release the price was dropped to $2,999.
  • Reply 8 of 13
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    I am pretty sure he price was 3299 dollars at the launch. Perhaps someobne can back me up on this?
  • Reply 9 of 13
    Quote:

    Originally posted by coolmac

    The 30" Cinema Display is not the same price since it's launch. Originally it was priced at $3,299 but about 2-3 months after it's release the price was dropped to $2,999.



    Thats correct. Its price has dropped.



    I should know. I ordered one and the day that I got it I paid the lower price since on that day Apple reduced the RRP. I had twice the smile on my face. :d
  • Reply 10 of 13
    There are 30" for less that $3000.



    There are refurbished ones for $2,599.
  • Reply 11 of 13
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    Yep guys you are quite right. The price of the 30" display has indeed dropped since it was introduced - my mistake.



    Am I right in saying however, that the 30" was the only member of the display line-up that didn't drop in price during the last round of price cuts?



    Digging out some archived copies of MacUser:



    At launch:

    20" £999

    23" £1,549

    30" £2,549



    1st price cut

    20" £699

    23" £1,249

    30" £2,099



    2nd price cut

    20" £549 (55% of its original launch price)

    23" £1,049 (68% of its original launch price)



    30" remains at £2,099 (83% of its original launch price)
  • Reply 12 of 13
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Messiah

    30" remains at £2,099 (83% of its original launch price)



    Well, what can you do, it's the only game in town. In the 20-24" market, there is competition, the most obvious of which is Dell; there is no such alternative for the 30".
  • Reply 13 of 13
    Honestly I like the dells better, the panels in competing products are exactly the same, the Dell displays are cheepier include more usb ports, and include a built in card reader, which is very convient. Not only that but they do picture and picture, and support VGA which is nice for that 1 time a year when you have to hook up a crappy computer to test something.



    I own a 30' apple display, 24' dell,20 cinema display (apple), 20-widescreen dell. And there's no real difference in quality, just more features on the dell.



    This has been really covered at places like ars that say the pictures are exactly the same, but that dell uses slightly better backlighting (new modules) that allow you to crank up the backlight to unnessary levels.



    If you need 30' all in one spot go with the Apple display, otherwise use a site like techbargin (the post dell coupons for instant $500 all the time) and get two Dell displays.



    I love Apple's beautiful displays, but sometimes I love features too, the built in card reader is perfect since I keep my g5 tower in the closet.
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