Sony quits plasma market for reals
Yeah, Sony's been threatening to do it for years, and haven't been putting out plasmas in the US since 2005, but Sony finally is getting serious about quitting the low-profit (for them, at least) world of plasma -- and it would appear they've finally done it. Sony has been seeing a sharp decline in shipments, from 300,000 in 2004 to 100,000 in 2005, and profits have been slim due to the lack of their own plasma display factory; they plan to increase LCD shipments to pick up the slack, and hope to increase their shipment ratio of 40-inch plus LCDs by 50% before year's end. They've also contracted construction on an eighth-generation LCD plant, which should start production in fall 2007, and handle 50,000 glass substrates a month. Sony hopes to boost LCD sales 33% in 2007 to a whopping eight million units, and if it means bigger displays and lower prices we sure won't be complaining.
[Via HD Beat]
