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LCD monitors get pricier

A model shows off one of five new liquid-crystal-display monitors featuring a 3,000:1 contrast ratio launched by LG Electronics Taiwan Taipei Co yesterday. PHOTO: WANG PEI-HUA, TAIPEI TIMES

Consumers wanting to purchase liquid-crystal-display (LCD) monitors will have to dig deep into their pockets as vendors have hiked prices to cope with tight supplies.

"There is a shortage in panels, especially for the 17-inch, 19-inch and 19-inch widescreen models, which has led to a rise in panel prices," said Gatti Park, assistant general manager of LG Electronics Taiwan Taipei Co, on the sidelines of a product launch yesterday.

To reflect the costs, LG raised its monitor prices by NT$100 to NT$200, he said.

The price hike should continue into the third quarter and LG will make adjustments in accordance with feedback from the retail market, he added.

Bigger rival ViewSonic International Corp recently reflected the rising costs of panels on its monitors.

"The price increase of our monitors is around US$10, depending on screen size," said Brian Wei (韋博仁), ViewSonic's product manager for the Asia-Pacific region.

Gluts and shortages in panel supplies are common phenomena in the industry, with monitor prices mirroring those fluctuations, he said.

Market researcher International Data Corp Taiwan said a total of 496,486 LCD monitors were sold in Taiwan in the fourth quarter of last year, up 4.7 percent year-on-year.

Nineteen-inch monitors were the mainstream model, with 22-inch models gaining momentum, it said.

LG has set a target of 15,000 monitors sold in Taiwan per month, or a total of 180,000 units for the whole year, Park said.

Worldwide, LG is set to sell 16 million monitors by the end of the year, a strong 60 percent jump from last year's 10 million, he said.

To cope with the demand and capacity, LG is expected to outsource production to second supplier TPV Technology Ltd (冠捷) in the second half of the year. Innolux Display Inc (群創光電) is its first supplier.

LG yesterday introduced five new LCD monitors, all displaying a high 3,000:1 contrast ratio for fine picture quality. Retail prices are from NT$8,990 to NT$11,900.
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