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Vizio touts strong TV sales, but Samsung still leads

Vizio is proud of its growth in the second quarter, and the company wants everyone to know about it. But it's still lagging behind Samsung in overall sales.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read
Vizio

Vizio might not be the top U.S. television maker anymore, but the company is attempting to make it clear to everyone that it has its sights set on the top spot.

The TV maker released a statement on Thursday outlining its sales success during the second quarter. The company said that its ability to deliver high-quality offerings at "affordable prices" helped it enjoy the highest quarter-over-quarter growth in the industry.

Of course, what Vizio failed to point out in its statement, which it based on an iSuppli report released on Wednesday, is that the company is still lagging behind Samsung in the television market.

According to iSuppli's figures, Samsung captured 19.7 percent of the U.S. television market in the second quarter, while Vizio came in second at 18.9 percent. They were followed by Sony, LG, and Sanyo with 10.9 percent, 8.8 percent, and 6.9 percent share, respectively. A year ago, Vizio was the top U.S. television maker with 19.4 percent market share, compared with Samsung's 18.8 percent share.

Last year, Vizio shipped nearly 1.5 million TV units during the second quarter of 2009. Its sales dropped to 1.4 million this year. Samsung's sales stayed relatively steady year over year with the company selling just 3,000 more televisions this year, compared to last year.

Although Vizio's sales were down year over year, the company's touted growth of 30.8 percent was witnessed over the first quarter of 2010. During that quarter, it shipped just 1.06 million televisions, compared to Samsung's 1.15 million. Samsung's growth compared to the first quarter was a respectable 26 percent.

According to iSuppli, consumers are starting to see value in "larger LCD-TVs with better picture quality and more premium features, including 3D, LED backlighting, and built-in Internet connectivity." Currently, iSuppli says, Samsung leads the way in that space, but "Vizio has significantly closed the feature gap." And with cheaper prices coming from Vizio, the company might just take the lead over Samsung once again.

Further reading: CNET television reviews