LG L1980U LCD: The New 19" Panel on the Block

Cost Analysis

Recently, we had the opportunity to talk with several display manufacturers concerning the cost of displays, and more specifically, why displays (particularly 19” displays) have dropped so much in price over the last few months.   To the advantage of the consumer, the main panel manufacturers AUO, LG.Philips LCD and even Samsung are in a bit of a price war right now with regard to control over the LCD panel spot market.   Thus, companies like Dell, which are not tied to any specific LCD panel manufacturer, are free to choose Samsung as their 19” panel manufacturer, but LG.Philips LCD for their 20” and higher displays.   Manufacturers tell us that 19” panels are actually one of the easier substrates to produce; the 1280x1024 resolution has been perfected on 17” LCDs for years and scaling this resolution to a larger pixel pitch is somewhat trivial.

While 17” display prices are down as well (nearing the $200 mark), it’s the 19” displays that have really given retail channels a run for their money.   A cheap 21” CRT costs upwards of $350, and although the resolution is slightly larger, the screen size is not compared to a 19” LCD.   LCD displays have the upper hand when compared to CRTs on the 19” and larger sizes without a doubt.   Furthermore, 19” LCD prices seem to be in a terribly wonderful free fall.   In January, most of our displays were above the $400 mark (down from $450 a month prior).   In particular, some displays like the Dell 1905FP fell $100 in price, making it one of the most competitive 19” LCDs that we’ve ever seen.   One of our personal favorites, the NuTech L921G, also fell $60 in price, which makes our evaluation of the LGE L1980U even tougher.   The similarly designed Samsung 193P dropped over $200 in price as well – probably in anticipation of some of the newer displays like the SyncMaster 915N.

Unfortunately, every 19” display that we’ve looked at is cheaper than the Flatron L1980U right now (with the exception of the SyncMaster 910V – which is approaching EOL).   Our Flatron is a new display and thus, will have a non-competitive cost for an initial first few weeks.   However, prices would have to come down at least $100 to make LG’s option more viable than offerings from Samsung.   Even more detrimental to LG, there are also a few coupon codes in various circles on the internet, which actually brings the cost of the Dell 1905FP down even more ($335 is just the base price as of May 10, 2005).

Dell is clearly the 800 lbs. gorilla when it comes to displays these days, and no one is going to argue against the UltraSharp 1905FP as the best LCD under $300.