Rich Fiscus
3 Sep 2007 17:43
According to plasma manufacturers at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, the technology is still capable of being a contender in the HDTV market.
Research firm iSuppli says LCD TVs outsold plasma by a 4:1 margin last year, and that margin should jump to 7:1 this year.
Matsushita's Panasonic TVs are the best selling in the world, and they're confident they can compete with LCD technology through improving quality, decreasing power consumption, and lowering the price.
Hiro Wada of Panasonic believes that plasma televisions can maintain a market share of at least 30% of flat-screen TVs larger than 37".
"We have a chance because demand for bigger screens is increasing," Wada told Reuters in an interview at IFA. He said Matsushita, which is investing $1.5 billion in a plasma panel factory in Japan.
He points out that while LCD technology has been available commercially for more than 30 years, plasma technology has only been around for 10. Panasonic believes that enough improvements can be made to plasma to make it worth staying number 1 in the market.
Wada also said Panasonic aimed to reduce the power consumption of its sets by about 20 percent per year.
Source: Reuters