Samsung Hits the Vending Machine for Profit

"I think it's a significant market for electronic signage," said Sweta Dash, senior director at iSuppli. "More and more panel suppliers are getting into this."

Although the market for specialist LCD devices such as vending machines and billboards is much lower volume than the market for LCD TVs, it's much less price-sensitive, according to the analyst.

"People are more open to better features and functionality, whereas the TV market is more price, price, price," she said.

Samsung, however, is not the only company attempting to make waves in the LCD panel market, where it competes with LG Display(LPL Quote) and Sharp.

Dash nonetheless feels that Samsung was the first mover into specialist applications. "Samsung started this trend," she said. "They have looked at the signage market as a market with specific requirements and they have built panels designed for that purpose."