Sharp unveils 108-inch LCD television
LAS VEGAS--Sharp Electronics took the wraps off a 108-inch LCD television, what it called the world's largest, during a press conference Sunday on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show.
The market for these behemoth televisions is small, but Sharp executives noted that prices over time decline and that other large televisions have found customers despite early skepticism. The 108-inch television comes out this summer for an as-yet unspecified price.
"A lot of people had questions when we introduced a 65-inch TV," said Bob Scaglione, senior vice president of Sharp Electronics America. Commercial customers buy these sort of televisions, he noted.
More importantly, the television is a shot across the bow to the plasma industry and Sharp's other competitors in LCD. The 108-inch LCD is now larger than the biggest plasmas that have yet been announced, noted Toshihiko Fujimoto, CEO of Sharp Electronics worldwide. The television also has a higher resolution than plasmas and lower power consumption, he said. The technologies found in these big televisions eventually trickles down to smaller, higher-volume sets. (The largest plasmas measure around 105 inches.)
LCD televisions are also beginning to challenge plasmas in sales in the 40-inch and above categories, where plasma has been dominant, Fujiomoto added.
"There is no question that LCD is becoming the dominant format in flat panels," Fujimoto said. "LCD is not the undisputed flat-screen technology."
Global demand for LCD televisions will rise from 42 million units in 2006 to 69.7 million this year, he said, Fujimoto said, citing statistics from DisplaySearch. By 2010, LCD television shipments will rise to 128 million units.
Sharp, meanwhile, will increase its marketing and branding efforts in LCD TVs in 2007 as well as apply price pressure to its closest competitors.
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