TOKYO—Panasonic Corp. said it will partner with Best Buy Co., America's leading electronics retailer, to place special displays promoting its new 3-D televisions at the retailer's U.S. stores, and will discount the prices of those models by close to 50%, as part of the Japanese firm's push to drive adoption of the technology.
Osaka-based Panasonic said Best Buy will set up displays at several hundred of its biggest stores, where customers can try out the 3-D televisions. Best Buy will then expand the roll-out to more than 1,000 stores nationwide, according to Panasonic.
Panasonic plans to discount its 3-D models for the U.S. market. It plans to sell a 50-inch 3-D model for about $2,500. A similar set retails for about 430,000 yen, or about $4,800, in Japan.
While 3-D technology has gained popularity in theaters, electronics makers are starting to introduce new televisions and Blu-ray players to bring 3-D into the living room. Unlike past 3-D technology, which used color filters to create the 3-D effect, the latest models use battery-operated glasses that open and shutter rapidly to allow for high-definition 3-D images.
Global shipments of televisions capable of viewing 3-D video are forecast to grow to more than 1.2 million units in 2010 from about 200,000 units last year, according to research firm DisplaySearch. By 2013, shipments are forecast to rise to 15.6 million units.
This year, Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and Sony Corp.—the world's three largest television brands—are also targeting the 3-D market with new televisions of their own
