Panasonic Touts Hydrogen Fuel Cell For Homes

January 8, 2010

Panasonic is eying the U.S. market for an at home hydrogen fuel cell.

The product has been available in the Japan for a year and is sold through utilities. It generates electricity and hot water, making homes more self sufficient.

The goal is to make the unit more affordable by bring its price below $6,500 in five years, the consumer electronics company said the Consumer Electronics Show. It runs on methane, or natural gas.

The problem is that it generates only 1 kilowatt of electricity, enough for a small apartment. The output will need to rise for larger U.S. homes.

4 Comments | news | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

Panasonic To Post $4 Billion Loss; Cuts 15,000 Jobs

February 4, 2009

One after the other, Japanese electronics companies are being hit by a double whammy: the sudden global consumer demand collapse and the appreciation of the yen versus the dollar.

Last in turn is Panasonic, which said today it expects a net loss of $4.2 billion for its fiscal year ending March 31, and plans to close 27 manufacturing sites (13 in Japan and 14 abroad) – about 12% of its global production facilities- and lay off 15,000 workers -  5 per cent of its global workforce – by March 2010. Half of the cuts will be in Japan.

Earlier this month, NEC announced it is cutting 20,000 jobs, while Hitachi, Sony, Toshiba and others have also recently announced thousands of layoffs.

In a press conference in Tokyo, Panasonic’s management did not say when they expect sales to eventually turn around.

1 Comment | ces, hardware | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by TechPulse 360

Panasonic To Post $1.1 Billion Loss; The First In 6-Years

January 28, 2009

After LG, Samsung and Sony, Panasonic is the next large consumer electronics company to be hit by plunging consumer spending.

Japanese newspaper, Nikkei, reported today that Panasonic will announce a whopping $1.1 billion loss for its 2008 fiscal year, ending in March; the first in six years.

The world’s largest maker of plasma television already announced this week that it will close three factories in Asia; two in Malaysia and one in the Philippines.

Last April, the consumer electronics company was predicting an annual profit for the same period of over $2 billion! And in November, Panasonic cuts its net profit forecast to about $300 million.

Panasonic, which changed its name from Matsushita last year, is in the midst of acquiring smaller rival Sanyo for $9 billion.

Earlier this month, Sanyo announced that it will break even for its fiscal year – also ending in March – amid deteriorating economic conditions.

Leave a Comment » | hardware, news | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by TechPulse 360

Hollywood Is Delaying U.S. Roll Out Of Blu-ray Recorders

January 7, 2009

Hollywood seems to be blocking the roll-out of Blu-ray recorders in the U.S, both Sharp and Panasonic executives confirmed. However, BD recorders will launch this year in Japan.

The movie studios are concerned that consumers will be able to make high-definition recordings of HD content, either over the air (think digital TV transition) or via cable or satellite.

All Blu-ray manufacturers are talking with the main content owners to add copy protection mechanism to those recorders. What a shame!

Leave a Comment » | ces, hardware, news | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by TechPulse 360

Panasonic Unveils World’s Thinnest Plasma TV, First Portable Blu-ray Player; Pushes For 3D Full HD Standard

January 7, 2009

panasonic
At its press conference at CES 2009, Panasonic revealed a 0.33-inch thick TV using its next generation Neo PDP Eco plasma technology.

According to Panasonic’s executive vice president, Bob Perry, Neo PDP Eco televisions have the highest moving picture resolution at 1080 lines.

Panasonic claims to have the first portable Blu-ray player. Samsung also unveiled a wireless one at CES!

Panasonic claims to have the first portable Blu-ray player with integrated LCD.

In addition, Panasonic also mentioned a 1-inch thick plasma TV, the Z1 which connects wirelessly to a set top box used to connect additionnal devices, peripherals.

The Japanese company which will celebrate its U.S. subsidiary’s 50th anniversary this year, unveiled the world’s first Blu-ray disk player as well as a 70X optical zoom digital camera in its Lumix line.

Finally, Panasonic continues its mission to push a 3D full HD standard this year as well as a 3D full HD Blu-ray authoring center at the company’s Hollywood Labs in the hope to start selling 3D TVs in 2010.

1 Comment | ces, hardware, news | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by TechPulse 360

HD Television Vendors Line Up Behind Rival Wireless Standards

December 12, 2008

High-definition televisions sporting wireless connections have yet to hit most retail shelves, but vendors are tussling over standards for this latest consumer feature.

An outdoor, wireless, weatherproof TV

An outdoor, wireless, weatherproof TV

Two industry groups are lining up behind rival 5 GHz and 60 GHz technology proposals.

The 5 GHz standard is based on technology from Israeli-based Amimon, and is backed by Hitachi, Motorola, Sharp, Samsung and Sony, says ABI Research. The companies formed the WHDI Special Interest Group.

Mitsubishi, separately, has said it will use Amimon technology.

The 60 GHz approach is designed by Sunnyvale startup SiBEAM and has drawn the support of Intel, LG Electronics, Matsushita Electric, NEC and Toshiba. This WirelessHD group also claims Samsung and Sony, who are hedging their bets.

Broadcom also has joined the consortium, said ABI analyst Steve Wilson.

Amimon has shipped 100,000 of its wireless chipsets and is making “real progress promoting its solution,” says Wilson. SiBEAM, meanwhile, has a new round of fundraising and has won investments from Sony and Panasonic.

In Japan, Sharp and Hitachi are shipping high-end wireless televisions. In the U.S., Sony has its Bravia wireless adaptor available in some retail outlets, said Wilson.

Expect to see new models at January’s Consumer Electronics Show.

1 Comment | hardware, news | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

Blu-Ray Players Dip Below $200 For The Holidays

November 26, 2008

In a sign of the times, Blu-ray disc players are getting the axe – the price-cutting axe that is.

Bust Buy offers this Insignia model for $169.99

Bust Buy offers this Insignia model for $169.99

Prices for this once-premium item are falling to $199 for the holiday season as vendors and retailers hope to spark sales. Blu-rays produce high-definition video because they can store almost six times as much data as a DVD.

Among the retailers breaking the magic $200 barrier is Fry’s, which launched an advertisement for a Wednesday-only sale of a Panasonic model at $199. Costco is selling a Philips unit for $199.99, and Best Buy has an Insignia for $169.99.

Researchers say the holiday season could be a difficult one for consumer electronics companies. A third of consumers who were interested in flat-screen televisions now say they are unlikely to buy one, said NPD Group, in a recent survey.

Leave a Comment » | economy, hardware, news | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

Hot Gadgets For Your Christmas List (Hint: They Are All Mobile)

November 18, 2008
The Blackberry Storm is on Walt Mossbergs list

The Blackberry Storm is on Walt Mossberg's list

They include a phone, a printer, an underwater camcorder and an electronic reader – and they were all shown off at the annual hot gadgets night at the Churchill Club on Tuesday.

The theme this year is mobile. Everything was made to be portable.

According to The Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg, “the most interesting thing this holiday season is the keyboard-less Blackberry,” which is to go on sale November 21 from Verizon.

This touchscreen iPhone knockoff is called the Storm and it has a more haptic sensibility than the iPhone. When pressed, its screen gives a little to offer the feeling that a button or key has been hit.

It will cost $199 after a $50 rebate.

Also on Mossberg’s Christmas list is the Flip MinoHD camcorder, a shirt-pocket-sized device capable of taking high definition video. The video clips “come out (and) they’re great,” said Mossberg.

The camcorder has the capacity of about an hour and sells for about $229.

Greg Harper, co-founder of the gadget conference Gadgetoff, says he is in love with the first OLED (organic light emitting diode) picture frame for the consumer market. This Kodak product should be available online in time for the holidays and displays an exceptionally vivid, sharp image. “It’s a beautiful screen,” says Harper.

OLED makes a great picture frame, says Greg Harper

OLED makes a great picture frame, says Greg Harper

List price is $999.

Another of Harper’s favorites is the Panasonic SDR-SW20S, a $399.99 camcorder that can shoot underwater to depths of five feet.

Also keep your eye on Plastic Logic, a Mountain View company making a razor thin electronic reader scheduled for release in early 2009, says Evan Williams, CEO of Twitter. It is the size of an 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of stationary and is as thick as a pad of paper, with a large display.

Then, too, “I highly recommend the Kindle” reader from Amazon, says Williams.

Here are several other ideas:

*The RichardSolo 1800 backup battery for the iPhone. Cost is $69.95.
*The ClickFree automatic backup drive. The device plugs into a USB port and automatically backs up a Windows PC – no software to install. A 120gb version costs $75.
*The Planon PrintStik portable printer for computers and Blackberry cell phones. The device is no longer than a ruler and only 1.5 inches high. It prints using Bluetooth and costs $299.99.

6 Comments | computers, hardware, news | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 31 other followers