Hitachi has announced that it will phase out its CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors in Australia to focus instead on the up and coming LCD market.
The manufacturer will not pull any product lines but will transition the business “as stock runs out.” It will also add new LCD models throughout 2003.
Product manager for Hitachi, Michael Mannasz, said that over the past two years, technology and demand had shifted towards LCD technology, largely due to rapidly falling prices.
Hitachi Australia’s LCD monitor unit sales grew 200 per cent in 2002 and Mannasz predicted continued strong growth.
Traditionally used in government, corporate and financial sectors LCDs were now an affordable option for home and small businesses.
Loose estimates from Gartner predict that by 2005, 50 per cent of PCs will ship with LCDs. Current estimates put the attach rate at 35-40 per cent.
