Samsung: 'Smart TVs' will replace current LCD and plasma displays

Samsung Jang Won-gi

Speaking at the Flat Panel Display International 2011 event in Japan, Samsung Electronics' LCD President and CEO Jang Won-gi said that while the LCD has led the market for many years, with sales growing 36-fold since 1995, 'we need a new display to secure sustainable growth.'

Among the technologies he sees making the shape of things to come are 'smart TVs, tablet displays, smart office displays, public displays and large OLED displays'.

Jang says smart TVs – internet-connected models – will replace all existing LCD and plasma TVs, just as flat panels have all but replaced CRT TVs, and tablet PCs will usurp the laptop. Meanwhile in the office, wall displays and electronic boards will replace the ubiquitous desktop monitor.

He also sees current advertising displays being transformed into multi-screens and 3D screens viewable without glasses, while the AMOLED screens currently used for small portable devices will grow in size and replace current display technologies.

The company's ability to drive changes in the market shouldn't be underestimated: at the same time Jang was speaking in Japan, figures from the States showed just how tight a grip Samsung has on the North American TV market.

It leads in 3D, LCD and LED-lit TVs, and more than 80% of all 3D TVs sold in the States are Samsungs. In fact, its 81.9% market share in 3D TVs over the first nine months of 2010 puts it way ahead of the second-placed manufacturer, Panasonic, which has just 9.3% of the market.

It has 25.1% of the entire digital TV market Stateside, with second-placed Sony taking just 9.9%, while in the LCD TV market it's again Samsung first on 23.2% with Sony again second at 11.7%.

When it comes to LED TVs and IPTVs – those net-connected 'smart TVs' – Samsung's US market shares are 47.8% and 53.9% respectively.

And just in case you thought its dominance was all about smaller screen sizes and LCD/LED-lit LCD TVs, think again: it also has a 42.2% share of the market for 50in+ plasma TVs.

Follow whathifi.com on Twitter

Join whathifi.com on Facebook