Matsushita
”Panasonic Joining OLED TV Game?
In a end-of-article one-liner afterthought, Digitimes noted that Panasonic will begin making OLED TVs "in the future." They'll join Samsung (2009) and LG (2011) in jumping off the current LCD and Plasma train, which is an increasingly competitive (read: lower margin) market. [Digitimes]Old Lady Sues Tech Giants for Patents, Bakes Cakes with Lasers
Columbia University Professor Emeritus Gertrude Neumark Rothschild, the scourge of high-tech companies and freeway drivers, is trying to block imports from Sony, Nokia, Motorola, LG, Matsushita and Samsung, after successfully settling a similar patent lawsuit against Philips last week. The U.S. International Trade Commission is launching an investigation on 30 companies, which will affect products with short-wavelength LEDs and laser diodes that are used everywhere, from mobiles to Blu-ray players:
Nine-Megapixel Lumix DMC-TZ50 Has Wi-Fi, Photo-Sharing
May sees the Japanese release of Panasonic's Lumix DMC-TZ50, a nine-megapixel point-and-shoot with built-in wifi, meaning you can upload your photos directly to the web. At the moment only the Lumix Club that gets to host your pics, but restrictions will probably be lifted when the TZ50 gets a global release. There's also a 10x zoom and Leica lens, a three-inch LCD screen, and night- and face-recognition abilities. [Panasonic Japan via Ascii through Google Translate]
home entertainment
Pioneer Boss Resigns Abruptly
Pioneer just released a statement that its much-loved North American chairman and CEO, Tom Haga, will "pass on the reins" after 38 years with the company. He is stepping down rather quickly, shifting to an advisory role on March 31, and his replacement, Masao Kawabata, will be moving from Japan. This sounds fishy following Pioneer's manufacturing upheaval this past week, but our company sources tell us it's an "unrelated and unfortunate coincidence in timing" due to the end of Pioneer's fiscal year. [Press Release]
home entertainment
Pioneer Will Give Kuro Secret Sauce to Panasonic, Says Nikkei
According to a new Nikkei report, Pioneer is going to cease plasma production, as we suspected, but will not just become a passive buyer of Panasonic's plasma technology. Instead, it will combine forces with Panasonic (aka Matsushita) to make sure that the hot Kuro line doesn't fall in quality. At the same time, Panasonic benefits even more, getting all that sexy intellectual property to make ultra-black panels.The two firms are expected to combine their strengths to develop low-cost, high-quality panels. Plasma TVs based on a jointly developed panel will likely be added to their individual product lineups as early as 2009. Some Pioneer engineers may be transferred to Matsushita in the process.[Nikkei (Subscription required)]
rumor
Reuters: Pioneer Ending ALL Plasma Production, Will Outsource Panels to Panasonic
About a week ago it was confirmed that Pioneer was killing off its 42-inch plasmas to focus on sets bigger than 50 inches. Now Japan's Nikkei and Reuters are reporting that they're going to cease making plasma panels entirely, and will buy them from Matsushita (Panasonic). This follows a similar consolidation trend in the LCD market. But none of them went from putting out the best TVs in the world to effectively buying their heart and soul from their fiercest rival, either, which makes this a bit more shocking. [Reuters]
green
Panasonic Recycling Process Turns Plastic Into "Harmless" Gas
Panasonic has developed a recycling technique that uses titanium oxide to convert unrecoverable plastic and other organic compounds to a "harmless" gas. The key focus is on separating wires from their coatings and extract the other rubbers and plastics that make up the non-recyclable 20% of home-appliance waste. Panasonic's stated goal is to "completely eliminate mixed plastic waste." And if that ain't bold enough, the process reduces CO2 emissions, too, because the gasification process itself doesn't require much energy. Here's how it works: More »
displays
Toshiba Matsushita Develops Round LCD Display
Yes, Toshiba Matsushita has developed a full-color round LCD display. But before you get too excited about the possibilities, keep in mind that the viewable area is only 62mm (2.44″) across with a contrast ratio of 600:1 and a resolution of 240X240. So, at this point it is not quite ready to be part of your desktop PC configuration—but Toshiba believes that it has definite potential for use in vehicle instrument panels. When this technology does come of age though, Apple could be all over it. [TMD via Technabob]
tvs
Toshiba to Sell Big OLEDs in 2009?
The news is that Toshiba plans to bring an OLED TV to market by 2009. IDG reported it, but the story got better when the Register repeated it, adding that the OLEDs would have 30" panels. These would be larger than Sony's white hot 11-incher; larger than the 21" OLED TVs that Toshiba and Mitsubishi co-developed; larger even than the 27" OLED Sony was hoping to release down the road. What's the deal? We'll have to wait and see—and maybe stop putting off that damn Japanese Berlitz course. [IDG/PC World via Register via CrunchGear]Bluetooth D-Snap Player from Panasonic
The new D-Snap SV-SD950N from Panasonic is Bluetooth-enabled, so can pair with your phone and control some call functions. It has an SD slot, but only comes bundled with a rather stingy 1GB card. Battery life is good, at an estimated 60 hours, but is a drop from the previous D-Snap models without Bluetooth.
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Power Pedal Robot Legs
Matsushita Electric, makers of everything exoskeleton, recently annoucned their new Power Pedal robot legs. Designed for the elderly and those needing assistance, the user sits in a bicycle seat and walks somewhat normally—except with 7 times their normal leg strength. (Translation: we can all get 7 times fatter before being restricted to our beds, again). More »
green machine
Energy Bill Got You Down? You Need Penguin Power!
In the universe of gadgets meant to monitor or conserve energy usage, this is the first we've seen that takes an anime approach. The Lifinity ECO is either a thermostat or a energy monitor (or both), using helpful cartoon penguins that keep tabs on your heating and AC settings, as well as the stuff plugged in around the house. More »
displays
Toshiba Matsushita Display Introduces New 21" OLED Screen That Nobody Will Be Able to Buy
Another week, another display manufacturer trying to make us believe that large OLED screens are going to happen someday. Like Really-Real-Soon-Now™. This time it's the Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Corporation, a joint venture that has been mass-producing 3.5-inch OLED screens for some time, showing off a 20.8-inch screen with a rather smleh 1280 x 768 pixels resolution and your usual 16.7 million colors. More »
toshiba matsushita display








