Sony Corp. may seek to develop and launch next-generation televisions that include a model with an organic electroluminescent display, to improve its loss-making TV business and vie with its South Korean rivals, incoming chief Kazuo Hirai said.
“Cutting costs alone will not improve the situation,” said Hirai, currently Sony’s executive deputy president. “We have to release products that are appreciated by users.”
The 51-year-old Hirai, who will replace Howard Stringer as president and CEO on April 1, said the company will decide when to launch the TVs by “monitoring market developments.”
Sony’s TV business is likely to fall into the red again in the current fiscal year, it’s eighth consecutive annual loss, due to the strong yen and cutthroat competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. of South Korea.
The firm hopes to develop a thin-display organic EL TV featuring high-definition and low energy consumption with a large display for living rooms, to counter its South Korean rivals who have already developed 55-inch organic EL displays.
Regarding another next-generation TV, Sony has developed an energy-saving, 55-inch light-emitting diode display that uses LEDs as a light source mounted directly on the front of the display.
Hirai said the company has yet to decide on when and even whether to start mass producing the product, which offers a higher contrast than Sony’s existing LCD displays and is suitable for large screens.