Panasonic Cites Hurdles for 3-D Television
Even as the electronics industry pushes televisions for watching three-dimensional videos as a future growth area, Panasonic Corp. (PC) acknowledged that it will be challenging to get consumers to upgrade to 3-D sets so soon after many purchased new flat-screen TVs.
The electronics company also said it is sourcing more components from places where the currency is tied to the U.S. dollar to offset the strength of the Japanese yen, which it said was putting the company at a disadvantage to rivals, particularly from South Korea.
Japanese electronics makers, along with South Korean rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics Inc., see 3-D as the next major technological breakthrough to spur sales of televisions and Blu-ray players, similar to how high-definition video helped to drum up demand for LCD and plasma TVs.