Slow times for newly released products

As the comments from our respondents suggest, sales at this time of year are quite slow, with most customers tempted mainly by special offers or cheaper products. This is a trend that is reflected in many of this month’s sales charts.

Every single one of the products in our graphics card category is now ever so slightly out of date as the industry moves forward towards DirectX 11 compatibility. Every device shown is from the last generation of DX10.1 compatible products, and while they are still highly competitive – for example our top seller, PNY’s GT 220, is Windows 7 ready and will run most of today’s popular gaming titles at a sub-£100 price point – the lack of DirectX 11 support puts them on the inevitable slide towards obsolescence.

Similarly, while Norton 360 v3 has consistently been at the top of our security sales chart, it will be out of date by the time this issue goes out. Norton 360 v4 is out now and it will be interesting to see if the resultant drop in price will keep v3 at the top of the charts, or if it will be dethroned by its successor.

The desktop and laptop categories continue to be dominated by low cost, media-centric devices, which indicates that the public demand for such products continues unabated.

Meanwhile, our peripherals charts are led by low cost or bundled hardware. The top selling mouse is Logitech’s M115, a compact wired mobile mouse that retails at just over £10, while the leader of the keyboard category is a complete bundle of Microsoft’s Wireless desktop accessories.

Laptops
1. Acer AS5532
2. Toshiba L450 13X
3. Toshiba L500 1XC
4. HP G61-410
5. Advent Roma

Desktops
1. Compaq CQ5226
2. Packard Bell iMedia A2620
3. Acer Aspire X3812
4. HP 6210
5. Apple iMac

Graphics Cards
1. Nvidia PNY GT220
2. Nvidia PNY GeForce 210
3. ATI Sapphire Radeon 4830
4. Nvidia PNY GT240
5. ATI Sapphire Radeon 4670

Mice
1. Logitech M115
2. Microsoft Optical 1000
3. IT Works MBT01
4. Logitech M205 Wireless
5. PC Line RET1

Keyboards
1. Microsoft 1000 Wireless Media
2. Logitech Compact Keyboard K300
3. IT Works Wired Keyboard
4. Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
5. PC Line PCL MED2

Security Software
1. Norton 360 v3
2. Norton Internet Security
3. Norton Antivirus 2010
4. Kaspersky 2010
5. McAfee 2010