Matsushita has stuck its large-size display neck on the line and announced it intends to be selling 40-inch OLED HDTVs by 2011. As a result it has spent an estimated $930m on an OLED panel mass production plant based in Himeji, Japan; that should begin producing panels in 2010, based on the findings from a different, prototype production line ramping up early next year that will produce 20-inch and larger OLEDs.
Back when the large panel TV’s were first getting popular, most companies had two choices, bet on Plasma for the ease of which it scales, or bet on LCD and hope for the best. Well, Matsushita bet on Plasmas, and that worked out well in the beginning, but since then, LCDs have grown in size, and the plasma market has dwindled considerably.
Faced with a choice of either making non-exploding batteries or fireproof trousers for nervous laptop users, Matsushita have decided to go down the former route and mass-produce heatproof, spark-resistant Li-Ion cells. Missed fashion opportunities aside, they intend to raise production of insulated batteries to half of all lithium-ion batteries they make in 2009.
This comes following the recalls of Sony and Sanyo batteries which have displayed a worrying propensity to blow up in people’s faces and crotches.
Panasonic’s HUGE 103-inch plasma TV, which we covered last week, finally has a price tag, though any comments we’ve jokingly made about second mortgages/selling spare body parts to afford these sets may actually be true for this baby. The TH-103PZ600 will be out this September for the hefty sum of 6,000,000 yen. For those of you playing the home game, that translates to over $51,000 USD; people with that kind of extra coin lying around might be better off spending it as a down payment on a small country or a Lear Jet.
Just in case you feel that your current TV is simply not large enough for your tastes, Matsushita is ready to begin selling their monster-sized 103-inch plasma TV, otherwise known as “that big-ass TV that requires a second mortgage on your home to buy.” It features such state-of-the-art features as 1080p HDTV capabilities and a 3000:1 contrast ratio, and weighs in at an astounding 215 kg (or roughly 474 lbs.).
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