Japan Display Inc., a unique public/private partnership that was once Japan’s largest supplier of LCD panels but has been struggling of late, saw the price of shares of its stock jump as much as 24% Wednesday on news that it had developed a new lower cost manufacturing process for OLED panels. The company, which had been struggling with slackening global demand for LCD panels, will seek outside investment to pursue the opportunity provided by this new OLED manufacturing process.
Hitachi
Hitachi Spending Nearly $1B to Launch IoT Research Center in U.S.
Hitachi announced this week that it will invest ¥100 billion ($915 million) building a state-of-the-art research center in the United States to develop Internet of Things (IoT) products and technologies. A significant commitment by the company, with the project expected to take over three years to complete – the facility will be located in Santa Clara, California.
See more on this major R&D center in the U.S. by Hitachi… [Read more…] about Hitachi Spending Nearly $1B to Launch IoT Research Center in U.S.
Hitachi Jumps into Wireless Speakers Biz
Hitachi America, Ltd. announced on Tuesday that it has entered the wireless speaker business with three self-contained wireless speaker systems using Qualcomm’s AllPlay technology. According to Hitachi, their new hardware/software “smart media” platform makes it simple for consumers to stream any local or cloud-based media from any type of device via Wi-Fi.
Learn more about Hitachi’s new wireless music system… [Read more…] about Hitachi Jumps into Wireless Speakers Biz
Japanese Electronics Manufacturers Ready to Agree to Raise Worker Pay
Six major Japanese electronics manufacturers are prepared to agree to raise employee pay when they meet with union representatives at the upcoming spring labor-management wage talks, according to a report in the Japan Times. Yet to be worked out is the exact amount of the increase – the first such increase for workers since 2008.
See why manufacturers are open to an increase now & how much the increase is likely to be… [Read more…] about Japanese Electronics Manufacturers Ready to Agree to Raise Worker Pay
Panasonic Pulls the Plug on Plasma
BREAKING NEWS
Multiple news outlets including Reuters, Bloomberg, and the Nikkei reported today that sources at Panasonic are saying the company will exit the plasma TV business by the end of this fiscal year, which ends in March 2014. The news, while not totally surprising, means that there will be no plants anywhere in Japan producing plasma sets, and is likely the beginning of the end for the technology as LCD continues to take a greater share of even larger screen sizes.
See more on this surprising news out of Osaka, Japan… [Read more…] about Panasonic Pulls the Plug on Plasma
HDBaseT Alliance Says It Has Doubled in Size in Less Than One Year
Originally founded in 2010, the HDBaseT Alliance – a group of companies supporting a whole-house connectivity solution widely viewed as an alternative to HDMI – announced today that it has doubled in size in less than a year and now boasts over 60 member companies. We reported on the addition of Pioneer and Onkyo at this past Consumer Electronics Show, and the organization continues to add new members.
See more about this announcement and HDBaseT’s plans for InfoComm… [Read more…] about HDBaseT Alliance Says It Has Doubled in Size in Less Than One Year
WAVE Continues National Expansion with New Full Service Florida Location
WAVE Electronics (WAVE) announced this week that it has opened a new full service warehouse location in Dania Beach, FL, which is located in the more populous southern part of the state – just north of Miami between Hollywood and Ft. Lauderdale. Part of WAVE’s continuing national roll-out, just one month ago the company opened a new full service warehouse in New Jersey. This new Florida location brings their total to 10 locations.
Learn more about the success strategy for this rapidly growing CE distributor… [Read more…] about WAVE Continues National Expansion with New Full Service Florida Location
Robotic Transporter – Is This the Future of Elder Mobility?
Imagine for a moment you owned a robot – a mobility robot – kind of a enclosed wheelchair with a windshield and roof. It comes when you call it – instantly at your disposal and ready for your next command. You tell it where you want to go…and it drives you there all by itself. Could you use a robot like that?
If you were elderly or otherwise infirm – it could restore your freedom… [Read more…] about Robotic Transporter – Is This the Future of Elder Mobility?
Japan Moves to Set Worldwide Standard for Residential Energy Storage
At last month’s CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis, we learned about – and reported on – a new venture by industry stalwart Joe Piccirilli to sell a residential energy storage hub under the Rosewater Energy Group brand. Their hub uses rechargeable batteries to store energy from the power grid, or from renewable sources (i.e. solar panels, wind turbines), or even from a back-up generator to condition the energy and power your home.
Now news comes out of Asia that Japanese industry, in conjunction with the Japanese government, is preparing a proposal for the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to set international standards for the fledgling residential storage industry.
