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Vizio dominates LCD TV market in U.S.

Company easily bests the competition, including Samsung, in LCD TV shipments in the fourth quarter and for all of 2010 in the U.S.

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.
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Don Reisinger
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Vizio easily bested its competitors in the LCD TV market in the fourth quarter and for all of 2010.

The company shipped nearly 2.9 million LCD TVs in the U.S. during the fourth quarter, capturing 27.6 percent market share, research firm iSuppli reported today. That figure was a 55.5 percent jump from the same period a year earlier.

Samsung nabbed the No. 2 spot in LCD TV shipments in the fourth quarter, shipping 2.1 million LCD TVs and capturing 20.2 percent of the market. The company's shipments were up 22.4 percent from the same period a year earlier. Sony trailed with 10.1 percent market share, shipping 1 million LCD TVs last quarter. Sony's shipments were down by 20.4 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.

For all of 2010, Vizio also led the LCD TV market in the U.S., tallying 21.3 percent market share. Samsung once again trailed Vizio with 18.8 percent share.

There was more good news for Vizio when iSuppli examined total flat-panel TV shipments--which include both LCD TVs and plasma TVs.

The market researcher found that Vizio--which actually does not manufacture plasma TVs--still held onto the No. 1 position for the entire flat-panel TV market in the fourth quarter on the strength of its LCD TVs alone. Vizio's nearly 2.9 million LCD TV shipments gave it 23.9 percent of the entire flat-panel market in the U.S.

Samsung was No. 2 in the fourth quarter, with 21.5 percent market share and 2.6 million unit shipments of LCD TVs and plasma TVs. LG was No. 3 with 1.2 million shipments, representing 10.4 percent market share.

Flat-panel TVs include both LCD TVs and plasma TVs.

Despite its fourth-quarter dominance, Irvine, Calif.-based Vizio didn't grab the No. 1 spot for the entire year for the total flat-panel market.

According to iSuppli, Samsung shipped 20.1 percent of all flat-panel TVs in the U.S. last year. Vizio was No. 2 with 18.4 percent market share.

Even so, iSuppli was impressed with Vizio's performance last year and said that consumers are recognizing Vizio's key strength, namely the ability to pack features into a television that's typically priced lower than much of the competition.

"Vizio's market share gains in the U.S. LCD TV market in 2010 were driven by strong consumer demand for the company's LED-backlit sets," Riddhi Patel, director of television systems for iSuppli, said in a statement. "Consumers are snapping up LED-backlit LCD TVs from Vizio and others because of their thinner profile, superior picture, lower power consumption, and reduced prices."