Panasonic to Ship Two 3D Plasma TV Models April 23 in Japan
Panasonic Tuesday formally plunged into the 3D TV market, unveiling plans for 50- and 54-inch plasma sets that will be available for sale April 23 in Japan. Panasonic officials weren’t available at our deadline for comment on U.S. plans, but executives have confirmed the company will field 3D-capable plasma TVs here. The plasma 3D TVs are expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in the spring.
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In Japan, the 50-inch model will priced at about $4,800, the 54-inch for about $6,000. Panasonic said the 50-inch will sell for about a 14 percent premium over comparably sized plasma sets without the 3D feature. It didn’t give a specific breakout of the price premium for the larger, more expensive set. Each of the TVs will be bundled with one pair of 3D glasses, Panasonic said. Extra glasses will be sold separately for about $112 each. That’s roughly double the estimate Panasonic gave at last fall’s CEATEC Japan show, where the company also said it would package “at least” one pair of glasses with each plasma TV it sells (CED Oct 7 p1).
The 3D TV market is expected to be limited to high-end models this year. But Panasonic projected global first-year sales on one million units, growing to annual sales of 10 million by March 31, 2013. Panasonic also will field three models of Blu-ray 3D recorders and a single player in April in Japan. The prices of the Blu-ray products weren’t available late Tuesday.
Greg Belloni, a spokesman at Sony, which has vowed to challenge other makers for market supremacy in 3D TVs this year, said his company will have no comment on Panasonic’s announcement.