Panasonic's ultra-thin 54Z1 plasma in the wild
By Paul Miller 
posted Mar 12th 2009 6:12PM
posted Mar 12th 2009 6:12PM
posted Mar 12th 2009 6:12PM
The percentage of returned gadgets that have nothing wrong with them.
Of the $13.8 billion worth of returned products in 2007, only 5 percent were because gadgets were actually broken, according to a 2008 study.
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Don't really need to mention it again - but Panasonic is taking over now. Buh Bye to Sony and Pioneer. Samsung is still the LCD king but plasmas are still the best.
Silver...gross.
Panasonic may indeed be "taking over", but, even if they are the only (almost) game in town they still need to sell TV's. $6K??? Not in this market place, and most definitely not to me. Panasonic really has a chance to put plasma back in the game but not this way. If they need to sell these things for $6K to recoup they're investment then they invested too much.
They have a new 2009 line with many different options for buyers and you can buy a great 42" plasma for $899.
Take in mind that the model above is indeed 6k but it's new technology and only 1" thick!
Sharp has a similar LCD for over $10,000 and Sony's model is going to cost even more.
Do your homework before making ignorant statements.
http://hdguru.com/panasonic-2009-prices-leaked-part-ii-the-z1-plasma-and-more-hd-guru-exclusive/395/
wutchu talkin bout? every tv manufacturer has to have a flagship model (see sharp x1, sony xbr8, samsung 950, etc) to show their cojones. dude, why you actin new to the game? its the same stratey LG and Samsung, and sony play. show off a great panel to attract attentio, then make some affordable products. conversely, this is a company who almost always offers performance products for rich and poor consumers, and everyone else in between (i.e. not pioneer). I'd put their cheap x1 panel up against most expensive lcds this year. this z1 looks like the set to beat this year. its so sexy, it'll probably single-handedly sell the rest of the panny line to people who want but cant afford it.
The G10 which will be 2" and a 1/3rd of that price is a more reasonable deal, but if I had 6k to spare I would definitely consider it :)
I believe the G10 is my TV of choice for this year. 54" is just the right size for my family room, and I'lll take the 42" Panny there to the bedroom. Can't wait to find these in the wild.
I am leaning towards the G10 too, but I am wondering if the step down (x1) is not an event better deal. Still thin at 4", and just missing THX from what I understood
Sorry Corey but it's easy to show some cojones when your marketing LCD because your have about a dozen other manufactures beating the same drum. But, when your Panasonic you are the lone torch bearer of plasma and can't afford to put yourself into a price disadvantage. I know they also offer less expensive plasmas but they just introduced the custom 65' plasma as their flagship. I'm sure they will sell some 54PZ's but then again Pioneer sold quite a few Kuro's. Pioneer showed huge cajones, to no avail. I've spent the last 10 years marketing in this business so telling me to do my homework and not make ignorant statements just shows your (Video Master 2) inability to comprehend the picture beyond your own nose.
how's panny positioning themselves into a price disadvantage? last year with the dirt cheap 50px80 panel which could be had for about 1000 bucks? that was the TV deal of the year! the replacement's even cheaper this year! and their LCDs usually bested the sony, samsung, and LGs last year- in price and performance. theyve been making great, cheap panels consistently for the past 3 yrs, and also can make a kick ass tv or two, just to show they can't be outclassed (sorry to all you pioneer fanboys out there, but the pz 750 & 850s were the nails in the coffin) they have great products at ALL price points- i fail to see why you think the Z1 or vx100 are such bad ideas...
Panny is 2nd class. Pioneer will always be king.
Ultra thin for $6k? No thanks. I can get a Pioneer 60" Signature Series ELITE KURO for 3/4 the price and it's "Thin" enough for me...and the Kuro picture quality is above and beyond anything that Panny can produce.
Pioneer tried to outdo this with their concept 9mm PDP.
http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/pioneer-kuro-plasma-ces-1357.shtml
But they have quit the game because Panasonic outdid them in the marketing and pricing of products. Pioneer has the better product but they priced them too high that most people settled for a Panasonic which is the next best thing. Pioneer even ditched the 42" which is what most people can at least afford so most consumers became more unaware of or inexperienced in owning Pioneer TVs. Consumers would settle with a brand that they have become more familiar with. I wish Sony never left the PDP business.
In this economic times, price, not cosmetics, is king so I don't think this thin expensive TV will be flying off the shelves.