Pioneer picks Panasonic as plasma telly partner
Firms to combine R&D efforts
Pioneer and Panasonic are to align their plasma TV operations and integrate their research and development efforts, the new partners said today.
The announcement comes a month after Pioneer said it was to end in-house plasma panel production. At the time, it said it made the decision because of the difficulty it foresees in maintaining the cost-competitiveness of plasma technology in the face of ever-cheaper LCD TVs.
That's why Fujitsu, the first company to introduce plasma screens, ditched the TV technology back in December 2007.
But hence Pioneer's deal with Panasonic. The two will combine their technology development efforts to reduce the cost of coming up with bigger and better screens. Panasonic parent Matsushita will manufacture the displays, which will then be sold by Panasonic and Pioneer under their respective plasma TV brands, Viera and Kuro.
Both lines will ultimately take advantage of Pioneer's ultra-thin, high-black Kuro techology and Panasonic's Neo PDP energy efficiency drive.
Pioneer's first next-gen Matsushita-made plasma TVs will debut on the market in autumn 2009, it said.
The partners didn't give much else away today, but promised to provide more details next month when the alliance is set to be formally cemented.
COMMENTS
Re Ishkandar
Matsushita owns Pioneer? Since when? Perhaps you should tell them as their website doesn't seem to know anything about it - they are still under the illusion that they are a publically traded company.
The main Matsushita brands are Panasonic, National and Technics, and later this year they are renaming the main corporation as Panasonic anyway - they have nowt to do with Pioneer, until now that is.
@ Ishkandar
"ALL Pioneer products are "Matsushita-made" because Pioneer *IS* a Matsushita-owned company !!"
No it isn't.
Tip: If you double-check your facts before posting you won't make yourself look like a muppet.
"Pioneer's first next-gen Matsushita-made plasma TVs..."
ALL Pioneer products are "Matsushita-made" because Pioneer *IS* a Matsushita-owned company !! Matsushita owns Akai, Pioneer, National Panasonic and Ten. They also own part (half?) of JVC (Japan Victor Company). The main differences are the levels of tech and quality and the "percieved" value of the products/brands.
The statement above is almost as good as "The Toyota-made Lexus..." !! Toyota owns the Lexus brand and ALL Lexus are made in Toyota factories and rebranded !!
Now, if Panasonic started making Sony products that would be news indeed !!
