CTX To Launch Plasma Display, LCD-TV Lineup

CTX CEO Jim Chen also said the company, based in City of Industry, Calif., is set to begin an aggressive push in the commercial 17-inch LCD display space during the second half of the year. Chen made remarks in an interview at the CMP Media's Solution Provider XChange conference in Orlando, Fla.

CTX will begin shipping a 46-inch plasma display in September, with a street price of $4,399, according to the company. The product will be targeted at home entertainment as well as corporate, training and education markets.

The LCD-TV, which CTX will market as a solution for video conferencing applications, among others, will be available in the fourth quarter, company executives said.

As it broadens its product line, Chen said, CTX will continue to offer 24-by-7 phone and e-mail support for its products, both directly to end users and through solution providers to their customers. Members of CTX' "Reseller Club" will also have access to dedicated Website and service support; demonstration units; Web-based RMA tracking; lead referrals; and "special incentive pricing and promotions."

Chen promised the forthcoming consumer line would not conflict with CTX's existing commercial reseller channel.

"We are going to have a different product model so there will be no channel conflict," Chen said. The company has no plans to establish sales relationships for commercial products with retailers including Best Buy, he said.

Chen and Nelson Tsay, CTX's senior director of product management, said one of the company's goals is to be one of the top five in U.S. market share of 17-inch LCD monitors. Currently, CTX has almost 4 percent of that market, making it seventh on the list, they said.

Climbing to No. 5 may be an uphill battle, though, as some of the companies ahead of CTX on the market share list--including Samsung and ViewSonic--have been operating aggressive channel sales strategies as well. Unlike some of its competitors, though, CTX will focus its efforts on higher-end products and enterprise customers in the commercial space.