LCD monitor prices 'to stabilise in 2003'

NEWS

Prices of flat-panel monitors are likely to continue dropping through the first half of 2003, but stabilise by mid-year, according to NEC/Mitsubishi, one of the biggest manufacturers in the UK of LCD monitors. Speaking in London on Tuesday at the launch of nine new NEC/Mitsubishi LCD monitors, general manager John McGrath said he expects a recovery in the notebook market to soak up a lot of the over-supply next summer. "Prices of 15 inch monitors have come down substantially," said McGrath. "When demand for notebooks gets weak, LCDs are routed to the monitor market, and the monitors get cheaper... the market is being used as an outlet" said McGrath. But, he added, "Some panel makers are hurting to the point where they can't afford to go on. I expect prices to stabilise by the summer -- there could even be a shortage by then, which could push prices up marginally." Although LCD monitor prices have fallen for much of 2002, NEC/Mitsubishi's 15-inch displays underwent a price hike at the beginning of the year when the typical street price rose form about £290 to £310, according to the company's own figures. The typical street price is currently just under £280, while for some brands such as Samsung and Philips, it is closer to £240. Like many other monitor manufacturers, NEC/Mitsubishi is turning its attention to LCD technology because prices of CRT monitors have dropped so far that there is no more value to be extracted from 15-inch and 17-inch products; they have become commodity items. CRT monitors are also losing popularity both among manufacturers and buyers as governments worldwide are preparing new environmental laws that will increase further obligations to recycle computer equipment. CRT monitors, with their high lead content, are both difficult to dispose of in an environmentally friendly fashion and to recycle. By mid-2004, sales of LCD monitors are expected to surpass those of CRT monitors, said McGrath. "The shear volumes that will ship will make the whole market much more efficient," he said. However, said McGrath, there will continue to be demand for CRTs even if, as is expected, demand for bog standard 17-inch models sees a rapid demise. "CRT will still be used for colour work, and there will still be a market for large CRTs -- 22inches." Indeed, NEC/Mitsubishi is not taking it eye off the CRT market; the company revamped its entire range over the past three months with the ClearFlat and SuperBright Diamondtron models. NEC/Mitsubishi's new LCD range includes models with analogue interfaces for the soho (small office/home office) sector, and models with digital and analogue interfaces aimed at business users. Prices start at £229 ex VAT for 15-inch models and £599 for 18-inch models. The 19-inch LCD1920NX costs £659 and the 20-inch £LCD2080UX will cost £1,199 when it ships at the end of December. Three 17-inch models are to launch, with the speaker-equipped multimedia LCD1760VM costing £399 when it ships at the end of December, the thin-bezel LCD1760NX costing £375 due in January. Pricing has yet to be set for the low-end, analogue interface-only LCD1701, which is also due to ship in January. A 30inch display, the LCD3000, tops off the range at £2,697. A 40-inch model is due in February. McGrath said he expects the new range to help boost the company's prducts among home soho (small office/home office) buyers -- a market on which the company has not previously concentrated. In November the company began selling for the first time through a retail store when PC World began stocking the 15-inch LCD1511M and the 17-inch LCD1711M - priced respectively at £279 and 429 inc VAT. According to market research firm Brian Norris Associates, NEC/Mitsubishi was responsible for 12 percent of the 236,000 branded TFT displays shipped in the UK during the third quarter of 2003. LG came second, with 11 percent of the market by unit shipments. By value, NEC/Mitsubishi had a larger lead, with 19 percent of the market compared to Philips in second place with 12 percent and Sony in third with 10 percent.

See the Hardware News Section for the latest update on everything from MP3 players and PDAs to supercomputing. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

16 minutes ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

59 minutes ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

1 hour ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

2 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

3 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

3 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

3 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

3 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

6 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

7 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

7 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

9 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

10 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

11 hours ago by via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

19 hours ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Replying to an old topic that I'm currently facing with my CEO (who is on a Mac). Our servers are primarily Windows Servers, office is about...

1 day ago by txtrainguy on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Sure, that makes perfect sense. Pay wrong-doers money and thank them for breaching your security and pointing out your flaws, that would surely...

1 day ago by k0tcs3 on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack

I think he's referring specifically to Android apps, as Apple do regulate their App Store, but Google seem to let any old crap onto the Android store!

1 day ago by Random_Error on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store

Keep the crap apps out?! How will they compete with Android and Apple's claim to fame of having so many life changing apps? I wonder if the media...

1 day ago by Paul Fezziwig via Facebook on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

LCD monitor prices 'to stabilise in 2003'

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Electronic ink slims down screens

Flat-panel demand lights up LCDs

LG Philips pulls LCDs into the mainstream

LCDs boom while price hikes loom

NEC-Mitsubishi LCD monitor prices cut by a third

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Desktop Hardware

Apple bucks a falling PC trend in UK and France

Apple takes top PC spot from HP

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Technical MI Manager - 50-60k - Leeds

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Workspace IT / Desktop Hardware

LCD monitor prices 'to stabilise in 2003'

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Desktop Hardware

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features