We’ve posted a new video on youtube showing how easy and convenient it is to use the Xerox Duplicator. Check it out for your self (copy and paste the below link into your web browser):

Recently I read about how the Sears Corporation trumped the traditionally low price leaders of Wal-Mart and Amazon.com in the field of books. For the avid reader, reduced pricing is a positive as they can now purchase the books they want at a much reduced cost. However, this has caused quite a stir with the American Booksellers Association (ABA) as they feel the continued reduction in pricing will diminish the funds available for publishers and authors therefore reducing the number of books being published and therefore limiting the range of expression that could come from less mainstream authors.

You can see the same concerns in the CE world as not only are the small retailers hurt by the major chain stores due to greatly reduced margins, but ultimately it’s the consumer who pays the price as the manufacturers, under pressure from the retailers to lower pricing, have to focus on reducing their costs and increasing output. This in a way lowers the overall quality of goods and reduces the lifespan of products.

At Vinpower Digital we are constantly battling between offering a greater product and yet keeping our pricing competitive with those on the market more concerned about sales than quality. Since most duplicator sellers are merely intermediaries and have very little interaction with the customer after the sale, they often could care less about the quality of the product and whether the low price is truly a good value or a ploy. They are more concerned about getting the sale because with the reduced margins, they are forced to care more about volume than customer service. Those that do emphasize customer service over pricing tend to have a loyal following of customers, but often loose footing to the companies who just move boxes.

Fortunately we are in a unique position where we move enough volume to keep our costs low which can be passed on to our resellers and ultimately to the customer. At the same time, as one of the very few duplicator manufacturers we also care deeply about the quality and ability of our products, so we are constantly striving to improve and develop new features and products that meet the consumer’s needs.

As a consumer myself, I’m all for lower prices, but I also recognize that quality has a cost associated with it, and often times it’s better to pay a little more now than a lot more later.

According to a recent article in Business Weekly entitled PC is coming back! in the October 12, 2009 issue, it states that with the rapid decrease in price and emergence of newer technology devoted to individual ownership of PC products, that the PC market as well as the Blu-ray market will grow significantly by the end of 2010.

In terms of the PC market, most households tend to have a single computer for the family, whereas with the introduction of the low cost Netbooks with their simplified feature sets and easy wi-fi connections will lead to the true definition of personal computers. This way each family member can have their own computer and everyone can independently connect to the web wirelessly. This increase in PC’s lends credence to the thought that content will increasingly be kept on some form of digital format such as optical disc (CD, DVD, or Blu-ray) or flash memory (USB pen drive, SD or Compact Flash card).

In addition the reduced price of PC’s the price of Blu-ray drives and media will continue to decline and is expected to be under $100 in 2010 which looks to be the magical price point whereby the drive can make significant inroads into the market share of DVD drives. With prices of Blu-ray media and players also continuing to decline, this format is positioned for a massive explosion in terms of adoption and increased market share.

The transference from tangible to digital “paperwork” will continue to pick up steam and it’s only a matter of time before paper becomes as obsolete as vinyl records and cassette tapes.

As we prepare for another Gitex, (this will be our 5th year participating in what is billed as the largest ICT trade show in the Middle East), we are encouraged by the rapid adoption of digital duplication in this growing marketplace. As Vinpower Digital expands our offerings from optical disc into common flash duplication through our USB Duplication line, we are certain that this expansion will be a huge success in the Middle East region.

From our experience, as technology continues to expand rapidly, the biggest winners are developing nations where they can merely leap frog old technology for the newer more easily adaptable to countries with minimal old technology infrastructure. For example, take phone service. In many 3rd world and developing nations, they were unable to cable the entire country (especially remote locations) for standard land line telephony. With the introduction of wireless cell phone technology, those countries/regions are able to integrate cell phone towers throughout the region at a far lower cost and hence allow the entire area to have communication capabilities where it once seemed impossible.

So, as we do every year, we look forward to the expanding and capable market of the Middle East as a strategic growth center for new and emerging technologies.

When I first started in this business, Half Height DVD burner write speeds were at 4x (I know I’m late as many of you can recall how exciting it was for the CD burner to reach 4x speeds). Then quickly everyone jumped to 8x speed while Plextor unleashed the 12x speed burner. The rest of the story follows where all other companies bypassed 12x for 16x speed and then 20x, and now settled at 24x.

The H/H Blu-ray drive models have followed suit for the most part. First starting with 2x speed, then jumping to 4x followed by 8x and now Pioneer announcing their 12x BDR-205 burner. It’s only a matter of time before a company looking to boost their credibility offers the 16x burner and then by extension the bar will be raised and leaped multiple times.

Just as there were constant comparisons and arguments as to the merits of DVD over CD (which by all accounts should have been extinct years ago) the DVD suffers the slings and arrows of Blu-ray enthusiast constantly writing its obituary for another format that refuses to go away. So even though the writing speed will continue to improve, Blu-ray one day will inevitably meet another format that becomes the natural successor with greater capacity and capabilities and we will simply recycle this article and change the names to the new format of the day. At least I’m confident there will be a physical medium by which people store data and need to copy it, so I feel confident this industry will continue on like the resilient CD and DVD who learned their lessons from the still not totally gone floppy disk and VHS.