Despite a weak economy, Flat-panel sets are selling like hot-cakes. And Vizio is in first place among LCD TV manufacturers. The folks at DisplaySearch have some interesting new numbers on the flat-panel TV market, which has surged over the last year.

About 7.2 million flat-panel sets were sold in the first quarter of 2009, which is a 23% increase over the numbers from the first quarter of 2008. The numbers show Vizio’s market share at an impressive 18.9%. Higher-end brands like Sony and Samsung didn’t fare as well during the economic downturn and they saw their sales decrease compared to the same period last year.