Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Canon to boost investment in organic flat-panel displays
PRESS RELEASE: Agence France-Presse
TOKYO--Canon said Wednesday it would boost research and development (R&D) spending by about two-thirds to advance new organic flat-panel display screens and rear-projection televisions.
Japan's top office equipment and camera maker will raise annual R&D investment to about 500 billion yen from around 300 billion as previously planned, a spokesman said.
"It is part of our strategy to consider large-size displays as one pillar of our business," he said.
Electro-luminescent displays, which sandwich a very thin layer of organic material between two plates, use less power and offer brighter images and wider viewing angles than liquid crystal display panels, making them suitable for devices such as digital cameras and mobile phones.
Canon said it was considering a commercial launch of the new display panels by 2007 and sees demand of around 20 million units a year.
The Tokyo-based maker of PC printers and digital cameras is also jointly developing with Toshiba a type of flat screen known as surface-conduction electron-emitter display panels, which are due to hit the market in early 2006.
At the same time Canon is working on rear-projection type displays for televisions.
Rivalry in flat-panel displays is heating up, with electronics manufacturers competing over several different types.
Sharp Corp is concentrating on liquid crystal displays, while Matsushita Electric Industrial, best known for its Panasonic brand, has been heavily investing in plasma display panels.
In late August, Canon announced it would take over NEC Corp subsidiary Anelva Corp, which makes flat-panel displays, in a bid to strengthen its cost competitiveness in this area.
TOKYO--Canon said Wednesday it would boost research and development (R&D) spending by about two-thirds to advance new organic flat-panel display screens and rear-projection televisions.
Japan's top office equipment and camera maker will raise annual R&D investment to about 500 billion yen from around 300 billion as previously planned, a spokesman said.
"It is part of our strategy to consider large-size displays as one pillar of our business," he said.
Electro-luminescent displays, which sandwich a very thin layer of organic material between two plates, use less power and offer brighter images and wider viewing angles than liquid crystal display panels, making them suitable for devices such as digital cameras and mobile phones.
Canon said it was considering a commercial launch of the new display panels by 2007 and sees demand of around 20 million units a year.
The Tokyo-based maker of PC printers and digital cameras is also jointly developing with Toshiba a type of flat screen known as surface-conduction electron-emitter display panels, which are due to hit the market in early 2006.
At the same time Canon is working on rear-projection type displays for televisions.
Rivalry in flat-panel displays is heating up, with electronics manufacturers competing over several different types.
Sharp Corp is concentrating on liquid crystal displays, while Matsushita Electric Industrial, best known for its Panasonic brand, has been heavily investing in plasma display panels.
In late August, Canon announced it would take over NEC Corp subsidiary Anelva Corp, which makes flat-panel displays, in a bid to strengthen its cost competitiveness in this area.
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