LCD PCs Set to Replace CRT PCs As Monitor Prices Fall
February 5, 2001 (TAIPEI) -- The LCD PC appears to be gradually replacing its CRT-monitor predecessor, as the price of 15-inch LCD monitors continues to fall.
Several traditional PC makers in Taiwan have begun shifting production from CRT monitors to LCD monitors, as CRT monitors become ever less profitable. They believe that the manufacture of LCD monitors will assure their position in the PC market, and may also help them stake a claim in the notebook market.
Currently, LCD PCs in Taiwan can be divided into two broad types, depending on whether or not they come combined with a monitor and mainframe. Acer Sertec Inc. and Mitac International Corp. are the top two hot-selling brands, followed by Synnex Technology International Corp. and Sampo Technology Corp. The PCs produced by Acer Sertec and Mitac generally come with a microprocessor of Pentium III 800MHz or faster, a 30GB hard disk, and 128MB of RAM.
According to related players, the monitor accounts for a large proportion of the cost of an LCD PC. A PC equipped with a 15-inch LCD monitor, for instance, is generally priced at between NT$50,000 and NT$60,000. A 17-inch LCD monitor alone costs as much as NT$30,000, resulting in the low popularity of 17-inch LCD PC. A 15-inch LCD monitor is priced at NT$17,000 or so, almost half the price of its 17-inch counterpart. (NT$32.34 = US$1)
With the local economy remaining sluggish, manufacturers of 15-inch and 17-inch LCD monitors are widely expected to engage in a price-cutting war in the near future in an effort to boost their sales, probably increasing the market share of these products.
According to the relevant statistics, sales of LCD monitors hit 60,000 units for the full-year 2000, and industry observers believe that this figure may well double this year. Sales of LCD PCs reached about 1,000 units last year.
Related story: Acer, Chi Mei See TFT-LCD Shipments Pick Up
(Commercial Times, Taiwan)
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