Home theater fans might be all agog about the latest big-screen TVs from the likes of Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Shap, and Samsung, but when it comes to the everyday LCD TV buyer in the United States, they’re voting with their feet. According to DisplaySearch, cut-price big-screen TV maker Vizio took the top slot for LCD TV sales in North America during 2010, accounting for 18.3 percent of the market and selling some 6.9 million units. The numbers represent a 17 percent year-on-year improvement for Vizio…and the company is wasting no time tooting its own horn about it’s “meteoric growth.”
“Vizio continues to defy conventional wisdom in the consumer electronics space with strong growth and innovation,” said Vizio’s chief sales officer Randy Waynick, in a statement. “Our team’s success has proven that consumers recognize great technology at a great price by unseating the industry’s traditional leaders in the LCD market.”
DisplaySearch’s figures are actually slightly less rosy than iSuppli, which gave Vizio a 21.3 percent market share in the United States for 2010. Both analysis firms put South Korean electronics giant Samsung in second place, with Sony, LG, and Toshiba following up. (DisplaySearch’s figures actually put Funai in third place in North America.)
Vizio attributes its success at being able to bring features like LED backlighting, high refresh rates, and Internet connectivity to its televisions at consumer-friendly prices, and predicts the success of its TV lines will rub off on the companies other products, including home theater offerings like soundbars, Blu-ray players, and 3D TVs, but also tablets and smartphones.
