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As some notebook vendors already have plans to launch 16-inch FHD notebooks in the first half of the year, Samsung will ship some 16-inch FHD panels to these vendors, including Acer and Hewlett-Packard (HP), before the Korean maker formally starts volume production for the segment, the sources said, adding Samsung is expected to ship 16-inch FHD panels to Acer in April.

Samsung can produce its 16-inch FHD panels, which have a 16:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1920×1080, at its 5G line, with each substrate producing 18 panels of the size.

The 16-inch FHD panels are expected to be US$60-70 more expensive than 15-inch WUXGA panels. As notebooks featuring these panels will also come with blue-ray DVD optical disk drives (ODDs), these notebooks are meant for the top segment of the market.

System vendors estimate that currently 15.4-inch WUXGA notebooks account for 4-6% of the worldwide notebook market, and the 16-inch FHD notebooks is likely to account for less than that, the sources said.

The sources said AUO and Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) also plan to launch 15.6-inch HD notebook panels in June, while Asustek Computer will launch its 15.6-inch HD notebooks in the second half of the year.