ARC Monitors: LCDs Gain Ground Where Space Is Key

It may be taking a while for LCD monitors to make their way to the desktops of average American workers, but display panels based on this technology have already become the displays of choice in certain niche markets.

In high-rent districts such as Wall Street, traders have no qualms about swapping their bulky CRT monitors for the sleeker, more expensive LCDs, industry executives say. And, in countries such as Japan, where office space is limited, companies have been quick to adopt this technology, experts note.

"In Japan, LCD monitors are quickly becoming more prevalent due to lack of office space," says Thomas Han, CEO of CTX International, City of Industry, Calif., a division of Taiwan-based Chuntex Electronics.

Adds Al Giazzon, vice president of marketing at Itasca, Ill.-based NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display of America: "In Japan and Europe, LCD penetration is a lot higher than in the United States. Space [in those markets] is important."

Indeed, in 1998 4.2 million deskbound PCs were shipped to Japan; of these, 436,216 were bundled standard with LCD displays, according to a 1999 Gartner Group report. This was a tenfold increase over 1997 shipment figures, the research firm says.

When integrators can demonstrate a driving need for LCD displays, they frequently are successful at making the sale in the United States, says Kenneth Lowe, director of field application engineering at Princeton Graphic Systems, Santa Ana, Calif. "In the end, price is a very powerful force," he says, noting that LCDs already have made their way into traders' offices, where space is much more expensive than the costliest LCD panel.

"We're seeing the high-value areas going to the LCD panel," agrees Martin Reynolds, vice president and research fellow at Gartner Dataquest, San Jose, Calif. In addition to Wall Street, this includes medical usage and bank-customer service functions, he says.