Smart TVs are set to be hot in 2011 with LG and Samsung set to go head to head in a bruising battle for market share in Australia. 3D, which is now a standard component in most Smart TVs, is set to be relegated down the promotion ladder as TV companies fight it out with a new generation of TVs.Key to the battle will be content with Telstra yesterday announcing new BigPond Movie capabilities on Samsung and LG TVs.
DigiTimes is forecasting that Smart TV technology will be the focus of the global LCD TV market in 2011 as Samsung Electronics plans to add smart TV functions to all of its 40-inch and larger models.
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LG Electronics who has to win back the trust of consumers after being slammed last year for misleading them is looking to be a major player at the expense of several other brands.
Targeting LG in the Australian market is Toshiba who have grown market share at their expense during the past year and have several new Smart TV models coming including TVs that deliver 3D without the need for glasses.
Several market research companies reported that in the 210-million-unit global LCD TV market in 2010, about 21 percent had Internet connections, and the share is expected to reach over 50 percent by 2014.
DigiTimes claims that due to the surging demand, TV vendors are not only competing to see whose products have Internet connections, but also to see whose products are smarter through built-in processors and software with advanced user interfaces, fast content search and connections with other mobile devices. Moreover, vendors are also likely to develop towards LCD TVs with DLNA interfaces, which will allow TVs to display video from PCs or smartphones.
Samsung executives told ChannelNews at CES that the company aims to sell 45 million TVs in 2011, up 12 percent year on year, of which smart TV sales are expected to reach 10 million units. Samsung is more optimistic about the smart TV market in the US and expects the market to reach 20 million units in 2012.
In addition to existing USB and DLNA functions, LG is adding a new Media Link function to its LCD TVs, which will allow users to access content on PCs, as well as transfer and display the content on the TV. LG expects to ship 40 million TVs in 2011.
