Cash Cost According to DisplaySearch, major LCD monitor and LCD TV panel prices are increasing to cash cost levels and above. Demand for LCD TV panel is still strong relative to the supply so prices are increasing. For instance, 32″ 1366 x 768 LCD panel prices increased US$8 in early May. So did 42″ 1080p LCD panels. LCD monitor prices are increasing too: 21.5″ 1080p TN LCD panels gained US$4. This is based on DisplaySearch’s monthly PriceWise report and is free.
Future Prices This means that LCD TV and LCD monitor set prices might not be going down as aggressively in the second half of 2009. There is a chance that they can go up but brands will try to minimize that since an increase in price will doom sales. What this means for you is that the right time to buy might be right now.
A Breath of Fresh Air LCD TV and LCD monitor panel prices breaking the cash cost barrier and getting closer to profitability is like a breath of fresh air for LCD manufacturers. Cash cost is another way of saying marginal cost. So even if LCD manufacturers can get more than their marginal cost of producing a LCD, they still have a ways to go before getting to “total cost” that includes overhead, depreciation, etc. Once that happens the LCD suppliers can bust out the champagne and start celebrating because they will start to actually make a profit. When will that happen? Actually the question should be, “Will that happen?” (more…)
Thin & Light Shinoda Plasma Corporation, the company that will catapult plasma technology as the best for digital signage (and other applications) showed off its 145″ plasma display. But it’s not only the size, it’s the thickness and the weight. Let’s do a simple comparison. I just wrote about B&O’s BeoVision 4-103, the 103″ plasma TV for those who have absolutely nothing but money. The BeoVision 4-103 weighs 265kg–that’s 583lbs. That is massive! How much does Shindoa’s 145″ weigh? Just 7.2kg or 15.84lbs. You read that right: a 145″ plasma display that weighs just 15.84lbs. That’s amazing! The 3 meter by 2 meter Plasma Tube Array (PTA) is also extremely thin at just 1mm thick. 1mm! That’s 0.04″ (I hope I calculated correctly). Compare that thin profile to the ultra-thick 35cm or 13.8″ BeoVision 4-103. Shinoda’s PTA is game-changing. Without a doubt. Picture of the thin and ultra-light but massively large 145″ PTA after the jump. (more…)
Photo Courtesy: Wellcome Images, Karen Neill, Liquid crystal visualized under polarized light.
Bad Q1 Good Q2 First quarter large-sized (greater than 10-inches) TFT LCD panel shipments were down 3% Q/Q and 18% Y/Y to 91.5 million units. Revenues fell too: down 17% Q/Q and 52% Y/Y to US$10 billion. This is according to DisplaySearch, an Austin, Texas-based market research firm. In a survey of LCD manufacturers there is optimism in the air for the second quarter: unit shipments are expected to grow 37% Q/Q to 125 million! Revenues will also grow at a significant 47% Q/Q clip! That sounds quite optimistic and it is because it’s a tabulation of LCD manufacturers that need to have a positive outlook after the last couple of terrible quarters. (more…)
Amazon announced the Kindle DX this morning. Here are some standout features of the larger Kindle:
1200 x 824 As I have noted in my previous post about the Kindle DX, the display is more than 50% larger at 9.7″ (the Kindle 2 has a 6″ display) and has 16 levels of gray, just like the one in the Kindle 2. The DX has considerably more pixels than the Kindle 2 at 1200 x 824 versus 80 x 600 (both in landscape orientation).
PDF & 4GB The built-in PDF reader is something that current and would-be Kindle customers have wanted for a good long time and it’s nice to see Amazon respond with the DX. The Kindle DX can store quite a bit more books than the Kindle 2: 3500 versus 1500. The DX has 4GB of internal storage of which about 3.3GB is available to the user. The Kindle 2 had half of that. A feature comparison table and a video after the jump. (more…)
B&O just unveiled its stunningly huge BeoVision 4-103. The BeoVision 4-103 is a 103″ plasma TV but with a special feature:
… it is the only giant TV to come with a stand that can lift the TV at the touch of a button and also turn and tilt to the optimal viewing position. The screen itself will rest only inches above the floor when the TV is not in use, thus reducing its prominence in the room and concealing all integrated applications.
AU Optronics (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) are the two largest Taiwan-based LCD suppliers that go head-to-head with the likes of Samsung and LG Display in terms of LCD panel manufacturing capacity. These two giants are currently finetuning their LCD fabs to mass manufacture LCD TV with LED backlights in the second half of 2009 according to sources based on a DigiTimes article. The transition from CCFL to LED as a lightsource for LCD TVs will accelerate and the companies involved in the LED supply chain will certainly benefit. (more…)
Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) reported Q1’09 earnings and the results are not pretty. CPT’s unconsolidated revenues declined 41.7% Q/Q and 75.7% Y/Y to NT$9.8 billion (about US$297 million). Net losses were NT$11.13 billion. TFT LCD-related revenues decreased 42.8% Q/Q and 77.9% Y/Y to NT$8 billion. Large-size LCD panel shipments were also down, by 12% Q/Q, to 3.07 million units.
Small/medium-sized LCD panel revenues were down 59.1% Q/Q to NT$1.58 billion. Shipments declined too by 41.4% Q/Q to 15.89 million units. Gross margins for TFT LCD panels were -89.6% in Q1’09 worsening from a rather terrible -47.8% in Q4’08.
Notebook Focus LCD panel shipments for LCD monitor applications were 62% of overall large-size LCD shipments in Q1’09; notebook PC took 32% and TV was 6%. Compared to Q4’08 CPT concentrated heavily on manufacturing LCD panels for notebook PC applications.
Source: DigiTimes
5.3MP Large CMOS Samsung‘s HMX-R10 looks like a cute metallic cyclopes, if ever a cyclopes can be described as cute. Or metallic. The HMX-R10 captures 1080p video, has a 8x optical zoom and an HDMI port. While the rather largish 1/2.33″ 5.3 megapixel (effective) CMOS image sensor is hard at work capturing 1080p you can look at the beautiful video through the 2.7″ touch-enabled LCD flip-out viewfinder. We can expect the larger CMOS image sensor to be quite good at low-light situations. The recording medium on the HMX-R10 is SD and SDHC.
Angled Lens The folks who designed the HMX-R10 were looking out for your wrist. Try this: Lift up your forearm as if you are holding a can of Coke, don’t tilt your wrist, and bring it up to your face. That’s how I imagine it will be holding the HMX-R10. Pretty comfy, isn’t it? The F3.5-3.7 6.8-34.0mm lens is angled at 25 degrees to prevent your hand and wrist from having to unnaturally contort. (more…)
Corning announced first quarter results on April 27, 2009. The largest supplier of LCD glass experienced some ups and downs.
SCP As we can see every performance metric for Corning was down in Q1’09. But there was one bright spot: Samsung Corning Precision Glass, the company’s LCD glass joint venture with Samsung. LCD glass volumes for SCP increased 7% Q/Q. The results are not surprising as Samsung has continued to increase its brand market share in US retail. Overall performance was bad but at least there is a sign that maybe the LCD industry is turning around. Here is what Wendell P. Weeks, Corning’s CEO stated during the earnings announcement: (more…)
Press Conference According to rumors, Amazon will announce on Wednesday a much larger Kindle called the Kindle DX. The press conference will be held on Wednesday, May 6 at 10:30am EDT at Pace University, the historic 19th century headquarters to the New York Times.
9.7″ Big The Kindle DX will sport a 9.7″ E Ink display. That’s 3.7″ larger than the current Kindle 2.0. With the larger display the number of pixels will certainly grow, but I don’t have a clue as to how many. The larger Kindle DX will certainly be catering to users that want to read textbooks and newspapers on their Kindles. Are you a student? Whether you’re in high school or in college you’re probably lugging a lot of books around and having to choose which books to actually take to school. Aren’t the books big too? And expensive? I’m not sure if the Kindle DX will help in the price department all that much but it certainly will significantly lighten your load. Your back will thank you too. There will certainly be a DRM feature so you can’t share your $100 calculus textbook with your friend. I wouldn’t be surprised if several textbook publishers announce electronic versions that will be available to the Kindle DX. (more…)
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