Panasonic and Best Buy Plan To Push 3-D TV Sets
In one of the funnier moments of Sunday's Academy Awards, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin thought they spotted Avatar director James Cameron in the audience. The hosts whipped out 3-D glasses to scan the audience for the man whose top-grossing film has fueled more interest in 3-D viewing.
While the gag got some laughs, it may not be unusual for more people to carry around 3-D glasses this year. All the top manufacturers are planning 3-D television models.
And on Wednesday, Panasonic and Best Buy will kick off a partnership to put more of the struggling Japanese electronics manufacturer's TV sets in U.S. living rooms.
While neither company had posted a news release about the venture as of Monday afternoon, The Wall Street Journal said Monday that Panasonic hopes to revive flagging sales of its plasma sets with the 3-D push, and will offer a large discount for its 50-inch model at $2,500. The same set sells for about $4,800 in Japan. Best Buy will add more than 1,000 display centers in its stores to highlight the experience, the report said.
Panasonic, which trails Samsung, LG Electronics, and Sony in worldwide TV sales, unveiled its VT25 3-D set at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. That set comes with a battery-operated pair of glasses with shutters that create the 3-D effect, unlike previous 3-D technology that relied on color filters and glasses with red and blue lenses.
But with the economy still teetering precipitously, is this a good time for new luxury goods?
"Absolutely," said Avi Greengart, a consumer devices specialist at Current Analysis. "Vendors are always searching for premium features that keep them from competing solely on cost. While it is true that unemployment is high and there is still a stigma attached to extravagant luxuries, a $2,500 price tag hardly...
Posted: 2010-03-08 13:17:15
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