Apparently Samsung is considering making a radical decision in the near future by brutally removing the liquid crystal display (LCD) flat screen business, which has caused the company a whole lot of loss and heartache. Even if Samsungs LCD-s always got better reviews than Sony’s, Samsung is seemingly interested in the technology of the future, and is looking to get rid of the past. Samsung’s display division registered an $891M in 2011, compared with Sony who lost $2.2B.
At the moment Sony is better known for its television and gaming consoles. Recently the Japanese company has taken up the tablet challenge, which will surely place them in competition with good old Apple. Other similar devices are on its do-to lists: think laptops and smartphones. CEO Howard Stringer hopes to help the company by granting $8.4 billion to the acquisition department.
Even so, the last decade has been marked by a weak economic recovery and that has been felt on sales, especially since consumers have developed a chilly indifference regarding 3D television.
Samsung spokesman James Chung said that the company is reviewing different options behind closed doors, but nothing major has been decided yet. Some rumors seem to hint towards Samsung’s new found affinity towards OLED. The possibility of a new OLED division and the old LCD division to be merged certainly exists. This is exactly the opinion the display expert of analyst house Meko, Rob Raikes boasts.
He notes that part of the problem with LCDs is that the population has become saturated by them, especially because of the low prices practiced by countries such as the UK. LCDs are stuck and can not grow at this moment any longer revenue wise. Thus, Raikes thinks that OLED might be the better option for TVs than the LCD and might end up costing less as well. Also Samsung seems to have gained a subtle advantage over its competitors as well regarding OLED displays.
“At the moment, Samsung has a very substantial lead in small OLED production over all of its rivals,” Raikes commented.
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