Panasonic’s latest products and technologies have a strong green focus. The company is also determined to maintain its position in the 3D market and keep customer loyalty by expanding its connected television offer. Anna Ryland reports on Panasonic’s plans for 2011.
Incorporating sustainability into all Panasonic technologies is an overall goal of the corporation, announced Laurent Abadie, chairman and chief executive of Panasonic Europe, at the Panasonic Convention 2011 held in London’s Excel. He revealed that the company’s activities are not limited to consumer products and manufacturing processes but Panasonic has started supplying British Gas with solar panels and, in cooperation with Tesla Motors, the company is developing electric cars and Li-ion ‘eco’ batteries.
By 2018, the company aims to achieve 30% of its global sales from energy saving products.
At the same time Panasonic is focused on maintaining its leadership position in the 3D technology market. The company already commands a 10% share of the 3DTV market and is aiming to grow it to 32% by 2014.
Panasonic will continue to offer a full suit of solutions for the 3D market that ranges from 3D televisions, professional and consumer 3D camcorders to a broad range of compact system cameras and lenses.
In 2011, Panasonic will expand its range of 3D and LED LCD televisions to include 12 3D and 10 LED LCD models. Full HD 3D TVs from Panasonic will combine NeoPlasma technology with high-performance 3D processing. All UK 2011 models will have a built-in Freeview HD tuner.
The Panasonic NeoPlasma technology, showcased at the Convention, features 600Hz sub-field drive Intelligent Frame Creation Pro, superior contrast ratios with Infinite Black Pro, Infinite Black, in combination with a High Contrast Filter. These models are well suited for 3D, thanks to 600Hz, fast response time and newly developed fast switching phosphor that reduces crosstalk. The energy consumption of NeoPlasma TV panels is approximately 40% lower than the standard plasma panels.
Panasonic will also be introducing its 3D Blu-ray players, DMP-BDT310 and the DMR-BWT800, and its first 3D Blu-ray disc recorder for the UK market.
Internet television is another major area of interest and investment for the company. At the Convention, Panasonic announced that this spring it will begin to offer VIERA Connect, a new and enhanced cloud-based Internet service. The service will be promoted as an open platform to facilitate increased applications in order to expand its IPTV services. At the same time, 19 new flat-panel VIERA TV models (from 19 to 65 inches), compatible with this service, will be introduced into the European market
The VIERA Connect service is a step up from VIERA CAST, the internet service which Panasonic launched in 2009. In addition to increasing the number of applications, the company has enhanced its hardware functions through linking it to health & fitness equipment, game controllers and an online shopping service. The new service will allow users to enjoy sports, health & fitness activities, interactive games, and a variety of other contents.
Panasonic also unveiled its new cameras and camcorders incorporating the latest technologies and features. The 900 camcorder series feature a wide-angle LEICA lens and is capable of shooting 3D movies when using the 3D conversion lens. New for the company were also vertical HD Mobile cameras that offer simultaneous Full HD movie recording and image recording in high resolution. Panasonic also announced the release of the new waterproof Full-HD Dual Camera HX-WA10, which allows easy photo and video shooting with no need to switch between photo and video modes.
