Toshiba Corp.’s first television to feature the Cell processor (also used with the PlayStation 3 console) is on track for its intended release this year. The product is to hit the Japanese market first in Q4 2009. The company first promised a Cell-based TV in 2007 and then showed off a prototype at CES 2008 in Las Vegas.
Toshiba said it uses the Cell processor to provide exceptionally high-quality video playback, picture upscaling and picture-in-picture (PIP) functionality capable to extend to dozens of channels simultaneously.
Masaaki Oosumi, President of Toshiba’s Digital Media Network Company, confirmed that the TV with market under the company’s Regza brand, and it will be the company’s flagship model. He likened the impact of the Cell telly’s appearance to the arrival of color television, but did admit it will be pricey.
The Cell Regza TV would have a native resolution of 3820×2160. Full specifications are expected to be released shortly.
Result for: japanese market
The Nintendo DSi was once again at the top of Japanese hardware sales for the week ended August 16th, propping up an otherwise sluggish week.
95,957 units of the handheld were sold for the week, including 7921 older DS Lite consoles. The Nintendo Wii was in second place, moving 47,732 units. Following behind was the Sony PSP handheld, which saw a 15 percent increase in sales, to 39,882 units.
The biggest “winner” for the week was the Xbox 360 which saw a 70 percent increase in sales to 9162 units.
The PS3 lagged behind at 5944 units sold, but is expected to see a giant jump sales after the release of the Slim PS3 on September 1st.
Full chart, via GI.biz:
* 01 Nintendo DS - 95,957
* 02 Nintendo Wii - 47,732
* 03 PlayStation Portable - 39,882
* 04 Xbox 360 - 9162
* 05 PlayStation 3 - 5944
* 06 PlayStation 2 - 4907
Result for: japanese market
Panasonic Corp. has revealed plans to introduce new slimmer and more energy-efficient Plasma televisions to the Japanese market in a few months time. The company has slashed the thickness of its Plasma televisions by about three quarters. Additionally, the new Plasma sets will only consume about half the electricity of models currently available on the market.
While more expensive and power hungry than LCD, Plasma is a newer display technology that is believed to have plenty of room for improvement. Panasonic is the largest producer of Plasma TVs in the world, ahead of South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. The improvements to its product line-up are part of an ambitious Panasonic goal to double its combined sales of LCD and Plasma TVs to 15.5 million units in the year beginning April.
At around 1-inch in depth, a new 50-inch model will be offered from Panasonic in Japan starting in April, with a price tag around 600,000 yen ($6,685). A 54-inch model will be priced higher at 700,000 yen. The new models will make it to the North American market in Summer. The 50-inch model consumes an estimated 260 kilowatt hours of electricity a year.
