LCD PC monitors are a flat-out success, outshipping traditional CRTs by 2004, IDC says.

The battle has officially begun: sleek, flat-panel liquid crystal display (LCD) PC monitors are flooding the market and forcing the continued erosion of traditional cathode-ray tube (CRT) shipments. According to new research from IDC, this market is being fueled by a surplus of LCD monitors from a number of suppliers in Asia, and these space-saving displays will surpass worldwide CRT shipments in 2004, approaching 119 million units by 2007.

"There's a universal attraction to these thinner, lighter, less cumbersome displays," said Jennifer Gallo, analyst for IDC's Displays and Projectors service. "Throw out an appealing price point to the masses and you've got a formula for shaking up the marketplace." It should be noted that CRTs won't completely disappear; shipping a respectable 30 million units in 2007. However, the vast majority of CRT shipments will be to less-developed countries, as more advanced markets will almost completely switch over to LCD monitors by the end of the forecast period.

On a regional basis, the monitor market will closely mirror that of PCs, with the U.S. dominating through 2006. But, all that will change in 2007, as a rapidly growing Asia/Pacific region will squeak past the U.S. to become the largest market for PC monitors with 28.9% of global shipments.

Key Findings:

--17-inch LCDs will become the dominant category in 2005

--LCD monitor average selling prices (ASPs) will consistently decline over next few years

--Monitor market share is dominated by large Korean monitor makers and major U.S. PC vendors

--Sub-$400 (and, in some cases, sub-$300) 17-inch LCD monitors have driven many mainstream PC owners into LCD displays

This study, Worldwide PC Monitor Forecast and Analysis, 2003-2007: It's a Flat-Out Success, (IDC #30629) presents an overview of the worldwide market for standalone monitors that attach to PCs. It covers traditional cathode-ray tubes (CRTs), flat CRTs, and LCD flat panels. In addition to the market size for each monitor subtype, major technological and market trends that affect the PC monitor market are included. Other areas covered include a comprehensive outlook for each geographic region by monitor type and size, unit growth, average selling price, and the associated total revenue value of the display market for the years 2002-2007. In addition, this analysis includes market splits by monitor resolution and connection type (analog versus digital), and within the CRT category by flat versus curved monitors for the same six-year period. The study concludes with a close look at the market shares of the top CRT and LCD monitor vendors in the United States and worldwide.