Toshiba Corp and Canon Inc said yesterday that flat panel TVs using a new technology called SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display) will go on sale in the fourth quarter of next year.
The announcement comes as Japanese electronics makers rush to cash in on booming global demand for flat panel televisions. Currently, the two main technologies for flat panel televisions are plasma display and liquid crystal display (LCD).
SED panels have a reputation for delivering clear and vivid images because their light-beaming technology is similar to that for old-style cathode-ray tube TVs.
Toshiba and Canon have shown test SED panels they have been working on, but had not promised a definite date for commercial release.
Initially, company officials had given sometime this year as a target date, but in recent months they have hedged on that promise, raising speculation that Toshiba and Canon could fall behind in the lucrative business.
In yesterday's joint statement, the two Tokyo-based manufacturers said the first stage of mass production would begin in July 2007, and SED TVs would go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Toshiba and Canon played down the apparent delay in the launch of the products, saying they would be in time for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, which are expected to be an opportunity to sell TVs.
"Toshiba and Canon consider the launch of SED TVs to be a major industry milestone, a once-in-50-years historical turning point for the TV industry, comparable to the initial introduction of CRT television," they said.
Although Japanese electronics makers have suffered from intense competition from cheaper Asian rivals over the last several years, the development of new, slimmed-down TVs has provided a new opportunity.
The top companies in LCD and plasma display TVs in global market share are Japanese, such as Sony Corp, Sharp Corp and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, which makes Panasonic brand products.
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