LG Electronics (LGE) is optimistic about 3D business opportunities and plans to introduce a complete 3D series of products in Taiwan, and expects 3D to become a basic function for household consumer electronics in the future, according to LGE Taiwan chairman Baek Myong-won.
Baek cited GfK data saying that LG accounted for 12.9% of the LCD TV market in Taiwan in January 2011, and was also the leading brand for the flat-panel TV market in Taiwan in 2010. In order to keep its leading position, LG will concentrate on promoting 3D TVs in 2011 and expects to boost market share to 20%.
The global 3D TV market was about 2.33 million units in 2010, accounting for about 3% of the global LCD TV market. Baek believes that the bottleneck for 3D displays is software, and that the 3D market has great potential through continued increases in software and content. 2011 will be the year for 3D products to take off, including 3D glasses-free handsets, 3D projectors, 3D tablet PCs and 3D notebooks. Baek noted that 3D TV demand in 2011 is expected to increase more than double compared to 2010 and the growth rate in Taiwan is expected to be higher than the global market.
The first generation of 3D TVs in 2010 create 3D images through combining TV and glasses but easily cause users to feel dizziness as the images are displayed separately to the left and right eye. The second generation of 3D TVs in 2011 combine the 3D technology in the TV panel and display 3D images by interlacing images up and down, which enables viewing angles to be expanded to 179 degrees, and the price for 3D glasses are expected to drop by one-tenth of the previous price. Prices for 3D TVs will remain flat with the technology moving towards glasses-free 3D technology.
Sales of 3D TVs in Taiwan in 2010 were not so impressive, and TV vendors such as LG Electronics and Sony have launched price-cut promotions following the Lunar New Year holidays. Pricing for a 42-inch LG model has dropped to NT$46,900 (US$1,585.3) from NT$56,900, and pricing for a 40-inch Sony model has dropped to NT$49,900 from NT$57,900, market sources added, saying that the price gap between 3D and regular LCD TVs will have to narrow for 3D to become a standard function of LCD TVs in the future.
LG sold about 125,000 LCD TVs in 2010 in Taiwan, accounting for 13% of the total market, of which LED-backlit models accounted for 10-15% of the total sales. Looking into 2011, LG expects to boost the market share to 20% and aims to ship up to 220,000 LCD TVs, with LED-backlit models accounting for up to 50% of the shipments.
Article translated by Yvonne Yu
