TechieGroups

HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD) prices have more than doubled in the six weeks between 1 October and 14 November after the floods in Thailand.

According to data from price comparison web site Idealo.co.uk, average selling prices increased by 151 per cent during the time period. In monetary terms, this was an increase from £43.29 to £109.78 and it equated to a price increase of 5.4 per cent per day.

Dating back to May 2011, prices for the most popular hard drives remained “extremely consistent”, Idealo said, with the average lowest price coming in at around £44.

However, beginning in late October and peaking in early November, the web site said there has been a dramatic increase in the prices offered by online stores on Idealo’s British, French, German and Italian comparison portals.

International Data Corporation (IDC) recently reported that as of early November, half of Thailand’s production capacity was directly impacted by the flooding. Thailand accounted for 40 to 45 per cent of worldwide HDD production in the first half of 2011. µ

Intel has quietly released a new top-of-the-line Sandy Bridge CPU: Core i7-2700K. We reported the i7-2700K "leak" about a month ago, and guessed that i7-2700K will be released around the same time as AMD's Bulldozer CPUs, which ended being quite accurate. In terms of specs, 2700K is very similar to 2600K – the only difference is the extra CPU multiplier and hence the extra 100MHz in 2700K. That means 2700K has default frequency of 3.5GHz and up to 3.9GHz Turbo. Otherwise 2700K is equal to 2600K: Four cores, Hyper-Threading (up to eight threads) and 8MB L3 cache. Like the "K" implies, the CPU multiplier is unlocked, allowing effortless overclocking. Intel hasn't, however, added 2700K to their product database yet (aka ARK), so possible changes in stepping for example are unknown. 2700K is sold for 2 in 1000 unit lots, making it more expensive than 2600K. 

On top of the launch of i7-2700K, Intel has also reduced the prices of three CPUs: i3-2120, Pentium G850 and G630. As the naming suggests, these CPUs are lower-end desktop models. The new prices are 7, and respectively. The price cuts range from 13% to 15%, the biggest cut being i3-2120's . 

THE PRICE of the Research in Motion (RIM) Playbook tablet has been slashed to as low as £250 by Currys owner DSG Group.

Currys, Dixons and PC World, all part of DSG Group, have cut the price of the Blackberry Playbook 16GB model tablet to £250, down £150 from their previous price of £399.

An initial check showed that Amazon is also selling the tablet at lower than its original price tag, at £269. Meanwhile, the Playbook is more expensive at Play.com and Carphone Warehouse, which are selling the tablet at £379 and £399, respectively.

In September, we reported that RIM had cut the price of its Playbook tablet in the US and Europe in an apparent copycat tactic to HP’s recent discount on its Touchpad.

Best Buy in the US axed 0 off the price of the 64GB version of the Blackberry Playbook and cut off the prices of the 16GB and 32GB models.

The Playbook has suffered from poor sales. The firm’s Q2 results revealed that it shipped just 200,000 of the devices in its second quarter, down from 500,000 in the first quarter.

The problem for RIM is not just slow sales, but a lack of network support, particularly in the US, where it has failed to secure a major network deal. µ

TWO IPAD RIVALS, the HTC Flyer and Motorola Xoom tablets have had their prices slashed by several retailers.

Although the tablets haven’t seen the same deep price cuts as HP’s Touchpad, which was reduced to around 0 last week and is now sold out, the Flyer can be picked up for £150 less at Carphone Warehouse.

During Carphone Warehouse’s ’10 day dealathon’ the HTC Flyer will cost £449 for the 3G and WiFi 32GB version, a £150 price reduction. Meanwhile the 16GB WiFi only Flyer will also be reduced by £150 to £329.

Amazon had smaller reductions, with the Flyer reduced to £539 from £599 for the 32GB model.

The Motorola Xoom’s price was cut on Amazon from £479 to £389 for the 32GB version. Carphone Warehouse had a £100 price cut on the 32GB Xoom at £479 and the 16GB price was cut by £80 to £399.

Play.com was charging £399 for the 32GB Xoom, meaning you’d get a better deal on either Amazon or Play.com if you wanted Motorola’s tablet. Strangely, Amazon’s full price Xoom tablet is the same price as Carphone Warehouse’s reduced price Xoom.

HTC is planning a big event next week, although it has not said what it is launching. We are thinking it might be the Taiwanese gadget maker’s new 10in tablet, the Puccini, explaining why it is trying to clear stock of its 7in Flyer.

The Xoom price reductions are unexplained. However, it’s likely that Motorola wants to give its tablet sales a push as it feels the weight of its competitors’ price reductions. µ

MOBILE OPERATOR Three has announced its prices for the Apple Ipad 2 on contract only plans.

The contract will cost £25 per month on a 24 month contract across the board of models, which Three is offering in black and white versions. You can head to Three’s store on Oxford Street at 5pm to pick up an Ipad 2 today, or at other stores across the UK.

For new customers a one-off payment for Apple’s shiny gadget will be required. The full range of storage options will be available with a 16GB model costing £229, 32GB costing £279 and 64GB costing £379. A 15GB monthly data usage allowance applies across all of the deals.

Existing customers can pick up the device for £30 less with the same £25 a month contract. These prices match exactly what Vodafone announced yesterday, apart from the slightly different monthly payments. µ

MOBILE NETWORK OPERATOR O2 has put out its price plans for Iphone 4 users in the UK and is even offering pay as you go.

Vodafone beat O2 to the punch with its Iphone 4 prices and pay as you go announcement three days ago. But O2 is still hammering away at inflated price points in the hopes of extracting more dosh from the fanbois, who arguably have more money than sense because, face it, they got an Iphone.

Punters have to buy a 18 or 24 month tariff for an Iphone 4 or pay the full pay and go price for an Iphone 4. These don’t come cheap, with the 16GB Iphone 4 offered for £495 or £595 for the 32GB version. That’s only a few quid cheaper than buying directly from the Apple Store.

The Iphone 4 is available over a range contracts. You can pick up the 32GB version for £323 on an 24 month contract or £299 on an 18 month contract, and don’t ask us why it’s cheaper for the shorter term, but we do suspect it works out in higher monthly charges. The 16GB model goes for £279 over 24 months or £209 over 18 months.

Pay as you go customers who top up on O2′s Text and Web tariff get a couple of incentives. Spend a tenner and you’ll get 300 free texts and 500MB of data, while if you spend over £30 you’ll get unlimited texts but still just a 500MB monthly data quota before surcharges kick in.

There are several options to choose from for anyone signing up to a tariff with O2. For those of you with cash to burn in a lingering recession, you can sign up for 1GB of data for £65 a month on the 18 month contract. Ouch indeed. µ