Samsung Electronics in the first quarter of 2010 regained the leading position in the US LCD TV market, as the company capitalized on rising consumer demand for TV sets with advanced features, including LED-backlighting, built-in Internet connectivity and 3D images, according to iSuppli.

Samsung in the first quarter shipped 1.1 million LCD TV sets in the US. While this was down 33% from the fourth quarter of 2009, Samsung actually outperformed the overall US LCD TV market, which contracted by 35.8% sequentially due to seasonal factors. This allowed Samsung to increase its market share to 18% in the first quarter, up from 17.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009, giving it the top position in the US market.

"The year 2010 marks a major transition period for the US LCD TV market, when consumers increasingly are gravitating toward sets with more advanced features," said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst, TV systems, for iSuppli. "With Samsung at the forefront of trends including LED backlighting and 3D, the company has been able to outperform the market and its closest competitors."

Samsung of South Korea retook the lead from US-based brand Vizio, whose unit shipments declined by 42.2% sequentially in the first quarter. Vizio and Samsung have been engaged in a tight race for leadership in the US LCD TV market, with the two companies frequently swapping the top position from quarter to quarter. Samsung held a 1.3 percentage points lead over Vizio in the first quarter of 2010, the same margin in which Vizio led Samsung in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The sequential decline in LCD TV shipments follows the normal seasonal pattern of sales peaking in the fourth-quarter holiday season and falling to the low point of the year in the first quarter. Most LCD TV brands used the first quarter as an opportunity to clear out inventories of older model sets to make way for new products.

Many new models with enhanced features were introduced during the first quarter that are in tune with 2010 product trends. With the addition of new feature-rich models to the product mix, the average price of LCD TVs in the US increased by 7% to US$830 in the first quarter of 2010, up from US$774 in the fourth quarter of 2009. Overall pricing tends to decrease on a sequential basis, making this increase a notable event.

The US LCD TV market in 2010 is set to undergo a rapid transition away from traditional CCFLs and toward LED backlighting technology. Shipments of LED-backlit LCD TVs in the US are projected to rise to 7.7 million units in 2010, up about 600% from 1.1 million in 2009. LED-backlit models will account for nearly one-quarter of all US LCD TV shipments in 2010, at 23.4%, up from only 3.4% in 2009.

Meanwhile, Internet-enabled TVs (IETVs) are attracting consumer interest, with US shipments expected to rise to 11.8 million units in 2010, up from 6.9 million in 2009.

Among US consumers that purchased new TVs in the first quarter, 26.8% indicated their new sets were connected to the Internet, either though the internal capabilities of their TVs or via external devices, such as digital video boxes or game consoles. This is up from 24.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009. Over time, IETVs will account for a rising portion of Internet connectivity in TVs.The most popular types of Internet content accessed by consumers are movies and social networking services.

US shipments of 3D TVs - introduced to the market for the first time in March, 2010 - are expected to reach 1.45-1.5 million units in 2010, thanks to increasing acceptance from enthusiastic early adopters.

Source: iSuppli, compiled by Digitimes, June 2010