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Consumer interest in LCD sets grows, plasma TVs decline

Consumers are replacing their bulky traditional TV sets with light and thin liquid-crystal-display (LCD) sets faster than expected, a recent study showed.

In the first quarter, 171,626 LCD TVs were sold domestically -- an increase of 27.5 percent over the previous quarter and a 73.2 percent rise from the same period last year, International Data Corp (IDC) Taiwan said.

"The retail price of 32-inch models plunged to a `sweet point,' as vendors slashed prices in aggressive promotions. This attracted consumers who originally planned to buy a traditional cathode-ray-tube set," Kim Hye-jin (金惠珍), an IDC analyst, said in a report released last week.

Price tags of LCD TVs started to drop by an average of 10 percent in every quarter since the second half of 2005, with the 32-inch models dipping as much as 15 percent, IDC said.

In the first quarter, 32-inch models accounted for the majority of sales at 64.8 percent, a slight decrease from 67.6 percent in the fourth quarter last year, IDC said.

The other best-selling models were 37-inch and 42-inch ones, which accounted for 14.9 percent and 5.4 percent of all sales respectively, it said.

The buying spree -- concentrated before the Lunar New Year when consumers rushed to replace their old appliances -- greatly benefited TV makers.

Chi Mei Group (奇美集團), Tatung Co (大同), Panasonic and Taiwan Kolin Co (歌林) were the top four LCD TV brands in the first quarter.

Kim said that sales of models of more than 40 inches are set to grow significantly in the next six months.

This will in turn propel the growth of full HD (high definition) models, as companies launch more TVs running on this high resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels.

The growing momentum of LCD TVs has hurt plasma TVs.

Tatung, the nation's leading home appliance maker, is set to retreat from its plasma TV production line to focus totally on LCD sets. Teco, Chi Mei and Kolin have already dropped plasma TVs, leaving only Sampo Corp (聲寶) in the business.

Tatung said last week it is selling the final batch of its 42-inch plasma TVs domestically. The 700 units were priced at NT$29,900 (US$899), with a three-year warranty on the panels.
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