INCREASED DEMAND and lack of supply are putting pressure on LCD panels and that"s likely to continue well into next year, according to Samsung, one of the monitor giants. And that"s good news for the manufacturers, because a shortage will mean prices won"t plummet anytime in the near future. LCD monitors and soon LCD TVs will dominate their respective marketplaces, and the firms that can get allocations of the panels early are the ones that are likely to win. So that"s why if prices don"t rise, they"ll stay the same.
The race is now on to finish fifth generation fabs for the panels, with Samsung one of the leaders in this particular desperation derby. Monitor fabs aren"t as expensive as advanced microprocessor plants, but they still won"t leave you with much spare change in your pocket.