Sony, Samsung soar; Vizio, Sharp slip in LCD TV sales

Vizio fell to third place in holiday quarter LCD TV shipments, while Sony jumped from fourth to first.

It marks the first time that the Japanese electronics maker has ever been on the top of the list in DisplaySearch's quarterly survey. The firm said that its lead was built upon its top showings in the 40-44", 45-49" and 50-54" categories.

While Vizio fell one spot from the last quarter, it did still manage to post 250 percent growth year over year, and maintained the lead in 37" HDTVs, selling twice as many as its next nearest competitor.

By percentages, Sony led with 12.8 percent of the market, followed by Samsung at 12.3 percent, Vizio at 10.7 percent, Sharp with 8.4 percent, and Polaroid at 8.1 percent. Sony's growth quarter to quarter was 83 percent, the highest of the top five, while Samsung chalked up a 57 percent increase.

Sharp fell from the first spot to fourth, mainly due to a three percent drop in market share, and nearly flat quarter to quarter growth.

Among plasma televisions, where Vizio has virtually no presence, Panasonic continued to dominate. It's market share increased nearly 10 percent quarter to quarter to 38.5 percent, and saw the highest quarter to quarter growth at 81 percent.

Panasonic was followed by Samsung and LG, unchanged in the previous quarter.