South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. recaptured leadership of the U.S. LCD-TV market from competitor Vizio Inc. in the third quarter, according to market research firm iSuppli Corp.

Samsung shipped 1.3 million LCD-TVs into the U.S. during the third quarter, equal to a 16.8 percent share of the market, according to iSuppli (El Segundo, Calif.). Vizio, meanwhile, shipped 1.2 million LCD-TVs in the U.S. during the quarter, good for a 15.7 percent share, iSuppli said

Samsung last held the No. 1 position in the U.S. LCD-TV market in the fourth quarter of 2008, before Vizio took the lead as consumers warmed to its low-cost, full-featured sets sold through high-volume retailers like Wal-Mart, iSuppli said. Samsung began to recover some momentum in the second quarter of this year with a focus on advanced LED-backlit LCD-TVs and reduced prices for its high-end sets, iSuppli said.

Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli, said through a statement that Samsung has been leading the LCD-TV industry's adoption of LED-backlighting technology.

"Consumers like LED-backlit LCD-TVs because of their ultra-thin form factors," said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli."With Samsung cutting the prices of these sets aggressively, they now are becoming increasingly affordable for a larger number of U.S. consumers."

LED-backlit sets accounted for 3.7 percent of total U.S. LCD-TV shipments in the third quarter, up from 2.1 percent in the second, iSuppli said. The U.S. now leads the world in sales of LCD-TVs with LED backlights, according to the firm.

Most of the Top-5 LCD-TV brands in the U.S. saw their shipments and market shares decline in the third quarter compared to the second, as smaller companies increased their sales, iSuppli said. Brands in the third quarter were focused on introducing new models and filling sales channels with new products, causing sales to decrease, the firm said.

By: DocMemory
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