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Sony may be the No. 1 seller of LCD TVs around the world, but Sharp is tops in Japan, according to a survey of retailers conducted by Japanese newspaper Nikkei Business Daily. The paper asked four retailers to forecast demand for LCDs around April 2008 when most manufacturers will release new models ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

Though Sony, Matsushita, and Sharp are all producing new models, the retailers all pointed to Sharp's Aquos brand - and especially the mid-size screen Aquos D series - as the assumed top seller. That's not a huge surprise. According to U.S. Market research firm DisplaySearch, Sharp was the bestselling brand in Japan during the fourth quarter of 2007, too.

But Sony is the best-selling LCD TV brand the world over, with 19.5% of LCD revenue by the end of 2007. Samsung had held the top spot for most of 2007. But in China, where LCD TV shipments are expected to finally surpass CRT TV shipments in 2009, homegrown brand Hisense leads the market. -Rachel Rosmarin

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