Samsung to ship 2 million 3D TVs by end year
(Credit: Amazon.com)
The Korean company unveiled an impressive 3D TV lineup last week at its regional Southeast Asia and Oceania forum held in Singapore. That said, many "burning" questions such as pricing and supply were unanswered. We managed to catch up with one of its head honchos after the event for further clarification. According to Yang Kyu Kim, senior vice president of sales and marketing for its Visual Display Division, Samsung is still in the final stages of reviewing its pricing strategy. He further elaborated that US consumers are willing to pay up to a 25 percent premium for 3D TVs, based on various market surveys, but was quick to add that this is aside from cost and pricing disparities between countries due to different tax structures, etc.
A check with online US etailers shows that some preorder prices of Samsung's 3D TVs are retailing within the above estimate. On Amazon.com, a baseline UN46C7000 LED-lit 3D TV commands a 16 percent premium over a high-end UN46C6500 2D LED model. An important point to note is this price does not include any active shutter glasses necessary for 3D playback, which would easily cost from US$100 a pair.
On the issue of supply, Kim indicated that most of the company's 13 flat-panel assembly plants around the world are capable of rolling out 3D TVs. Samsung believes this will be a fast-growing segment and is targeting to ship around 2 million 3D TVs globally out of the more than 40 million displays by end 2010. Asked about some of the bottlenecks for this emerging visual technology, the senior VP cited the lack of 3D content as one of the key hurdles and reiterated Samsung's partnership with Hollywood movie studios such as Dreamworks to promote the new format. However, there's currently no concrete tieup coming from Asia.
About the author
Philip Wong is an A/V, PC, photography and gaming enthusiast. Besides spending countless days and late nights fiddling with his home theater system and watercooled PC, he also hits the roads frequently on his iron horse to sweat it out. Now, who says geeks don't work out?
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