Ben Reid
6 Jun 2006 10:22
Pioneer Corp. is to discontinue the production of DVD recorders on its own, as fierce price competition is causing losses to the firm in this segment, and it is now looking to link up with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co to reduce costs, company sources said Saturday.
Pioneer plans to continue developing next-generation Blu-ray format, promoted by Sony Corp. and Matsushita, by purchasing key microchips and software from Matsushita.
Back in 1999, Pioneer became the world's first company to commercialize DVD recorders, and is, to this day, its' fourth-largest supplier. Pioneer aim to eliminate unprofitable businesses and focus on its lucrative car-navigation equipment and other vehicle-electronics operations.
Source:
Forbes.com