In advertising a new thin TV set to improve the company's performance, Sony does not use entertainers but stresses high picture quality by showing the stars in the sky.
Prices of thin TV sets have gone down 30-40 percent in the last year, and Matsushita President Kunio Nakamura said, ''The per-inch price in 2008 will be 5,000.'' The key to survival is price as well.
Output of
thin TV sets at these two plants is projected at 200,000 units a year in each plant.
It will show a range of new
thin TVs at the bi-annual IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, the world's largest trade show in its category which starts later this week.
plans to launch sales of an organic electroluminescence television next year in the United States, the second market for the company's ultra
thin TVs after Japan, chief executive officer Howard Stringer said Tuesday.
The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) said sales of
thin TVs are expected to surpass those of cathode-ray tube TVs in 2006.
While sales of digital audiovisual equipment, such as
thin TVs and DVD recorders, and telecom and information equipment were solid, those of most other products remained lackluster, the company said.
The plant will produce high-quality semiconductors, known as system LSI (large-scale integration) chips, for use in digital home appliances such as
thin TVs and DVD recorders.