Panasonic Speaks Highly of Invisible TV, but How Long Until Consumers See It?
-By Griffin Addison | [email protected]
Panasonic’s invisible TV is all the rage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year. Yet the invisible TV seems like it will quickly become a commodity item, although not a fad. The internet-connected television can do all sorts of things that smart TVs can do today and a bit more. The coolest part about them is that you can place them in front of furniture like a glass casing, and the liquid crystal display can block the background light and basically put a TV onto any glass surface.
Some companies are testing their invisible TVs using the natural light coming from a window. The TV could turn into window blinds, or light up at night, and go transparent during the day. The push fits in well with the connected home and having technology blend in invisibly with your home to make your life easier.
However, other companies such as Samsung have been researching and even talking about this type of technology for years. Panasonic says that their invisible TV is still more than 2 years away from reaching consumer homes. Therefore at this time, Panasonic is all talk and no game, which isn’t the best strategy. While a company like Apple may not make its computer monitors have the invisibility feature, the company is much quieter and secretive when it comes to new technology. They keep quiet until they are ready to launch a product, and then sell it to consumers the next day. Panasonic on the other hand, is getting everyone’s hopes up and giving competitors an edge. Customers still have to wait 2 years for an invisible TV which will likely still have a hefty price tag.