“The rapid expansion of the netbook market represents an attractive opportunity for small/medium display suppliers that are seeing slowing growth in other segments,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst, small/medium displays, at iSuppli. “The rise of the netbook segment, along with the advent of the digital photo frame area, has opened up the development of medium-sized displays in the range of 7" to 10".

TFT-LCD makers can utilize third- to fifth-generation fabs for netbook display production – fabs that previously were employed for larger sized display production. These fabs now are fully depreciated, allowing LCD makers to produce netbook displays at a low cost, says iSuppli.

The year 2008 marked the first full year of volume production of netbook PCs, with Asustek, Acer and other top-tier PC makers launching their own netbook PCs targeted at the education and third-world markets, says the firm.

Displays used in low-cost netbook PCs are smaller than those used in regular notebooks, with the main dimensions being 7", 8.9", 10.1" and 10.2".

Many netbooks are being launched with larger display sizes of 10.2" and 11.6". Product plans are in place for displays as large as 12" to be used in netbooks.

TFT-LCD suppliers in Taiwan are the main manufacturers of netbook PC displays, with the nation’s AU Optronics Corp. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. being the leading display suppliers.

Because of its relationship with Acer and Asustek, AUO in 2008 was able to gain a market leadership position with a share of 39% of unit shipments. CPT was in second place with a 24% market share, according to iSuppli.