Sony goes from 4th to 1st in LCDs
In the kind of comeback that might make many Olympic competitors look twice, Sony has leapfrogged everybody and become a leader in the LCD market, as rated by DisplaySearch. Powered by their BRAVIA line and their partnership with Samsung, they went from an 8.7% market share in the third quarter of 2005, to a market leading 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Suddenly Dwyane Wade scoring his teams last 17 points FTW (for the win) doesn't look so tough.
Why did they go so far so fast? Focusing on sizes above 32" more than their competitors, they had 900% growth in 40", and 175% growth at 32", in comparing sales over both quarters Who lost? Sharp, who went from first to third in total units due to supply problems despite the high quality of their AQUOS line. It's pretty obvious why Samsung and LG are investing so heavily in increasing production as well, whoever makes the most can control pricing and sell the most.
We'd say consumers are winning however, as LCD prices continued to drop an average of 16% in the fourth quarter alone. Any HDBeat readers go out looking for an AQUOS this Christmas and come home with a BRAVIA instead?
