Dell, Samsung and HP top LCD brands

After losing the top worldwide market share position in desktop LCD monitors to Samsung in the third quarter of 2007, Dell bounced back with a sequential growth rate of 6.8%, putting the two brands in a statistical tie for the top for the fourth quarter of 2007 with Dell marginally taking back the top slot. HP remained the third worldwide vendor, showing a growth rate of 12.2%. Further analysis reveals that brands focused on sales to commercial entities (especially PC brands that typically sell desktop PCs and displays as one bundled package) fared better than stand-alone vendors or those typically focused on sales to consumers.

Worldwide sales of desktop LCD monitors remained virtually flat in the fourth quarter of 2007. Total LCD monitor shipments grew less than 0.5% on quarter, making this the first time since the LCD monitor market began in earnest in 1999 that such small growth has been seen from third quarter to fourth quarter. "While it is quite typical to see a sequential dropoff in unit volume sales for both commercial and consumer buyers in seasonally weak period such as the first quarter of each year, it is quite unusual to see such flat growth in the fourth quarter of the calendar year," noted Chris Connery, vice-president of PC and Large Format Displays for DisplaySearch.