The wide-format LCD monitors are expected to dominate the market by 2009 due to growing video usage, while Microsoft`s new Vista operating system (OS), and aggressive pricing are expected to contribute to skyrocketing sales of such models over the next five years, according to iSuppli Corp., a tech sector analyst.


Forecasts by iSuppli show that sales of wide-format LCD monitors are set to grow to 146.9 million units by 2011, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 74.3% from only 9.1 million units in 2006. ISuppli is the global leader in technology value-chain research and advisory services.

The year 2007 alone will see end-user sales nearly quadruple to 35.8 million units, the research company points out, while revenues will grow to US$20.9 billion by 2011, rising at a 55% CAGR from US$2.3 billion in 2006.

In 2007, revenues are expected to triple to US$6.7 billion. By 2009, wide-format LCD monitors are expected to occupy the largest share of the LCD-monitor market in revenue and units shipped, surpassing traditional-format displays, iSuppli predicts.

According to Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor research at iSuppli, the wide-format configuration allows for more efficient glass utilization than standard-format panels, making the format the favorite of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel manufacturers. But end-users in the monitor market have lagged behind TV and notebook users in adopting the new standard. "With the introduction of Vista OS, which favors a wide-format display, and attractive pricing on wide-format offerings," Alexander says, "monitor users will finally shift to wide alternatives. Adoption varies substantially by region, with mainland China leading the way to date in wide-format adoption."

Large-sized Battleground

Wide-format alternatives will be filled in all monitor screen sizes, but the biggest battleground in 2007 is expected to be 19-, 20-, and 22-inch wide markets, iSuppli says. The 19-inch wide-format monitor panels, which have been priced considerably below their 20-inch wide competitors in the past, have led the market to date. As the 22-inch wide alternatives now are pushing below US$300 at the retail market, 20-inch wide panel and monitor suppliers were facing a price squeeze, at risk of being weeded out of the market.


The 20-inch wide-format LCD panel offers a higher resolution than the 19-inch counterpart, iSuppli analyzes, and is generally deemed to be a better fit for Microsoft`s graphics-intensive Windows Vista OS. Suppliers of 20-inch monitor panels, recognizing their precarious position, have responded with more aggressive price moves. With 19-inch wide-format panel providers now threatening to hike prices, 20-inch wide providers are eager to take advantage of the opportunity, collapsing the price differential between 19-inch and 20-inch wide panels and finished monitors.

As always, iSuppli says, the end-user will reap the true benefit, with a growing number of choices at increasingly affordable prices.

The adoption rates for wide-format monitors are expected to be higher by consumers than by enterprises due to several factors, iSuppli analyzes, including the biggest one of the growing importance of video applications--games, movies, IPTV, and video clips--in consumer PC usage.

Video excitement is not really a factor for most corporate customers and Vista adoption in this market is expected to lag behind consumer adoption, with most businesses expected to wait 18 months to two years before converting to the new OS, iSuppli says.

However, business customers are also seeing advantages in adopting the wide-format monitors, particularly for two-page, side-by-side viewing and editing applications.

Another segment where business demand for 19-inch and larger wide-format monitors is growing is for use as secondary displays with notebook PCs. Because much of the mobile-PC market already has migrated to the wide format, information technology (IT) companies are turning to wide-format monitors as the ideal match for wide-format notebooks.
(by Quincy Liang)