You think you enjoyed Blu-ray vs HD DVD? Memory Stick vs SD? Pshaw! You haven't seen a format war until you've witnessed the betrayal and bloodbath that was Betamax vs VHS.

Last month the projection was 37 inches. Now a more reputable Japanese paper, Nikkei, is reporting a 40-inch target being mass-produced and ready for retail in the same time frame. As always, Panasonic/Matsushita simply confirms that they're investing heavily into the tech and goes about their business. [AP]

Toshiba and Matsushita's joint display group is about to become the first Japanese firm to jump into the OLED production game, and in a big way-their announced factory will begin producing as many as one million 2.5-inch OLED panels per month when it comes online in the fall of next year. What could they be up to?…

Adding to the rumors we brought you a few months ago, the Sankei Shimbun daily newspaper is reporting that Panasonic is planning on having 37-inch OLED screens on sale within three years. And there's more: they'll be setting up a production line in the IPS Alpha Technology factory in Chiba Prefecture, intend to…

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]

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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 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;…

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.

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…

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…

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…

Matsushita is reporting one its best quarters in over a decade, largely due to its dominance of the plasma screen market, with a third of the marketshare. LG (number 2), and Samsung, on the other hand, both reported losses. Good for Matsushita, right? Well if LG and Samsung pull a Sony—that is, out of plasma—with…

Panasonic-owned company, Matsushita, is recalling thousands of massage chairs because they can ignite on fire. The incidents are supposedly extremely rare and only happened in demo chairs that are constantly being used. That's too bad—it's cold as hell here in the Midwest and I could use a good fire massage.