Panasonic to intro HD 42 inch plasma panels

MATSUSHITA Electric Industrial - which owns Panasonic - said it will launch what it claims is the world's first 42-inch plasma TVs with full high definition next month.

The tellies can produce images with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels which is not to be sniffed at.

There are plasma TV makers already offering 50-inch and larger full high-definition models, but the technology gets more expensive when you try to downsize it to 42 inches. This has left the sub 50 inch range to the LCD market.

Matsushita's panels will sell for about US $3,500. Initially sales will be only in Japan, but it will soon be followed by overseas launches, a company spokesperson told Reuters.

Matsushita is spending $2.4 billion to build the world's largest plasma display factory and is the third largest plasma panel maker.

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