Samsung LCD HDTV's top the US market

Samsung is once again the top liquid crystal display TV manufacturer in the U.S. market, after shipping 1.1 million LCD TVs during Q1.

Samsung's sales actually decreased by one-third since Q4, but the rest of the LCD TV market suffered a 36 percent drop at the end of 2009.  The company overtook Vizio as the No. 1 LCD TV maker in the U.S. market, with Vizio's overall market control dropping from 18.5% in Q4 down to 16.7 percent in Q1.

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"The year 2010 marks a major transition period for the U.S. LCD-TV market, when consumers increasingly are gravitating toward sets with more advanced features," said Riddhi Patel, iSuppli's principal TV analyst, in a statement.  ""With Samsung at the forefront of trends including LED backlighting and 3D, the company has been able to outperform the market and its closest competitors."

Even though LCD TVs constantly evolve and include new features, the average price of LCD TVs increased from $774 in Q4 to $830 in Q1.

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In early 2010, an iSuppli report indicated Vizio took over the top spot in the U.S. LCD TV market, even though Samsung sold the most flat-panel TVs in 2009.  Vizio was able to secure the lead in the U.S. largely due to its lower-cost TV models, but Samsung has a well known brand name paired with lower prices.

Samsung, Vizio and Toshiba have had success in 2009 and throughout 2010, while Sony and Sharp continue to struggle.  Consumers looking for a new HDTV can expect prices to level off -- and begin to decline -- while the features and streaming capabilities are expected to grow.

Furthermore, Internet-Enabled TVs (IETVs), which grew from 6.9 million units shipped in 2009, are expected to grow to 11.8 million this year -- and could soon drive the TV market.

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