Samsung Electronics tops global market for commercial displays

By Kim YoOung-gyo
SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co.
said Tuesday that it has become the top seller of commercial digital displays in
the world for the first time, according to a market report released Tuesday.
The world's largest display maker shipped a total of 293,000 units of large
format displays, designed for commercial and corporate digital signage
applications, in the January-March period, DisplaySearch of Britain said in a
report.
The number accounted for 13.8 percent of all the commercial digital displays sold
globally in the period.
Japan's Panasonic Inc., a long-time market leader, and NEC Corp. trailed, with 11
percent and 7.1 percent market shares, respectively.
The feat marks Samsung's first quarterly lead in the market, largely attributed
to the company's strength in the liquid crystal displays (LCDs) as preference for
digital displays is rapidly moving from Plasma Display Panels (PDP) to LCDs.
LCDs accounted for 69.9 percent of the market in the first three months this year.
The share of the PDPs in the commercial digital display market dropped to 33.1
percent in the same period from 70.1 percent in the first quarter of 2007.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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