This IDC study presents an overview of the worldwide market for monitors that attach to PCs. The scope of the market includes traditional CRTs and LCD flat-panel monitors. The PC monitor market experienced sweeping changes in 2007 as the Asia/Pacific region charged to the forefront in LCD monitor unit shipments, surpassing the once dominant U.S. market. The transition to widescreen formats began in earnest, with the total percentage of widescreen monitors growing from 9.1% in 2006 to 37.2% in 2007. Among the top-tier vendors, Samsung caught and then surpassed Dell in total worldwide LCD monitor shipments in the latter half of the year, resulting in a virtual market share tie between the two display behemoths for 2007.

"IDC predicts further evolution in the market in 2008. Widescreen LCD monitors will expand to encompass more than 60% of worldwide LCD shipments, while CRT monitor shipment numbers will continue to dwindle. Well-established markets such as the United States and Western Europe will face saturation and shipment number declines, while up-and-coming regions such as AP and ROW will grow so dramatically that they'll dwarf the former market leaders." Tom Mainelli, senior research analyst for IDC's Displays and Projectors group