2 July 1998: Japan“s Sony Corp. is reportedly aiming for global production of its blockbuster Wega series of colour television sets with a flat, wide screen, according to a press report.
High-resolu…
2 July 1998: Japan“s Sony Corp. is reportedly aiming for global production of its blockbuster Wega series of colour television sets with a flat, wide screen, according to a press report. High-resolution cathode-ray tubes for the Wega series, currently manufactured only at domestic facilities, are also expected to come from a Malaysian plant this summer, Sony officials said. Overseas production of the flat tubes, for which there is a long waiting list in Japan due to explosive demand, is then expected to expand to the United States, Britain and other countries by the year-end, the officials said. Sony, confident that the Wega series will become the next global standard in five years, does not want to miss an opportunity to boost its share in the burgeoning flat-screen TV market, the company told reporters. The new flat CRTs, featuring clear images without the warping effect of conventional tubes, made their debut in December 1996 after years of joint efforts by Sony and Asahi Glass Co. to develop new tempered glass perfect for flat-screen TVs. Sony“s annual shipments of colour TV sets in calendar 1997 shot up to an all-time high of 1.55 million units, second only to those of industry leader Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., reports say. The success story at Sony has reportedly prompted many other home electronics makers, including Toshiba Corp., Sharp Corp. and Victor Co. of Japan, to follow the flat TV trend. Hitachi Ltd. and Matsushita are also reportedly interested. With the World Cup soccer tournament stoking the flat TV boom, many makers will be kept busy by a supply shortfall for some time, a Toshiba official reportedly told the press.