Matsushita
Matsushita

Panasonic, Sanyo Set for TV Phones

The Nikkei is reporting that Japan-based handset makers Panasonic Mobile Communications, a division of Matsushita Electric, and Sanyo are set to commercialize cell phones capable of recieving terrestrial broadcast signals in response to the planned launch of services by NHK and private-sector TV stations by Q1 2006. Shipments of these new models are expected to begin between year-end and next spring.

Coin-size Low-Power Wireless Module

Panasonic unveiled its ultra-small low-power wireless module by incorporating a radio circuit and a microcomputer onto a single CMOS LSI chip, the world’s first in 400-MHz band low-power wireless technology. The tiny high-speed wireless module is suitable for a wide range of home and industrial applications. Panasonic has applied for 78 patents on the new module in Japan, of which 11 have so far been granted, and two patents overseas.

SECA Powerline Alliance

Three Japanese consumer electronics giants have created a new technology to transport Internet and media signals around the home via the electricity network, Panasonic said on Thursday. Sony, Mitsubishi and Matsushita-owned Panasonic have set up the SECA powerline alliance. They have developed a system to transfer 170 Megabits per second of data through the power lines of a home, Panasonic researcher Ingo Chmielewski told journalists at the electronics trade fair CeBIT.

Matsushita Profit Rises 47%

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the world’s largest consumer-electronics maker, said third-quarter profit rose 47 percent on lower costs and flat-screen television sales. The company will cut 7,000 to 8,000 jobs in Japan in its components and mobile phone units by March 31, it said. Matsushita Electric has 340,000 employees, more than double Sony’s, according to Bloomberg data.

Panasonic Develops Integrated Platform For Next-Gen Consumer Electronics

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand of consumer electronic and digital communications products, today announced it has developed a new multimedia processor-based platform. The platform, that is to be applied to a wide range of digital appliances including mobile phones and audiovisual equipment, facilitates software development of digital consumer electronics and improves productivity and software design. The new platform can accelerate the speed products are introduced to the market by more than five times the current rate, develop higher sound and image quality, lower power consumption, fortify security, and enhance responsiveness.