Panasonic may part ways with plasma TVs to save self

Although Panasonic plasmas are widely considered some of the best on the market, the company might actually be thinking about getting out of that business.

Panasonic is currently contemplating whether it should leave the plasma business behind, Japan-based newspaper Nikkei reported today, according to Reuters. The move would be part of a broader strategy on Panasonic's part to reduce its reliance upon televisions and fix its ailing operation.

In a statement to Reuters, Panasonic didn't rule out the move, saying that it's "considering a number of options" for its TV business, but so far, "nothing has been decided."

The problem is, Panasonic is in some serious financial trouble. Plasma televisions are not selling nearly as well as LCDs, and the company itself is losing billions of dollars. In November, Panasonic announced it would cut 10,000 jobs by the end of March, just months after it laid off 36,000 employees in the previous fiscal year. Cutting its television operation could save it some much-needed cash and allow it to focus on other industries.If Panasonic decides to get out of the plasma business, consumers could be the losers. In CNET Reviews' listing of the top plasmas on the market, Panasonic holds four of the top five spots. The company's TC-PST50, in fact,received four-and-a-half stars out of five for its great picture quality and overall value.

Read More

Apple marketing chief slams Android

Talk about fighting words.

Apple really has a way about them, you know that? Just about everything that comes out is lambasted by the tech company, who defiantly bucks trends in lieu of their status quo. They will tell us they re-invented just about anything, and somehow even the most evident of pre-existing tech is something they created.

Today is no different. In what can only be considered a continuation of the bad blood between themselves and Samsung, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller dismissed the Galaxy S4 as a competitor the the iPhone. He went on to bash all Android devices, saying in part “the experience isn’t as good as an iPhone.” and “When you take an Android device out of the box, you have to sign up to nine accounts with different vendors to get the experience iOS comes with.”

Let’s address these statements individually. First, the experience on an Android device is what you make of it. This is the true beauty of open source… we can do as we like. Don’t like TouchWiz? Screw it, flash a new ROM and custom theme. Vanilla Android boring you? Get the HTC One with Sense. That screen not cutting it? Get a different size.

Now, as for this claim of having to sign up for nine accounts. That’s just misinformation, really. I only have to sign up for one account, and that’s a Google account. Should I choose to have more accounts, that’s my prerogative.

Rhetoric born of fear is trite, and puts Apple in a continually dimming light. If Mr. Schiller wants to discuss experience, I’d challenge him to tell me where I can find widgets on the app store… and which of those are lock-screen widgets. I’m also curious as to how he organizes folders on his device. Who are the major ROM developers for Apple? Can you swipe away notifications yet, or do they still show on the app icon itself? I’d like to NFC beam him my entire list of questions, so hopefully I see him soon.

Perhaps Mr. Schiller is upset that his stock options are worth about half their value from 12 months ago, or that the overall market share of iOS is so low, worldwide. Then again, he’s a marketing guy… so what should we expect if not cheerleading?  Normally we’d tell someone like him to get lost, but he’s using Google Maps now, so we know he won’t.

Read More