Toshiba Corp. and Canon Inc. said Wednesday their alliance will delay the release of a next-generation television called surface-conduction electron-emitter display TV, or SED, until October to December of 2007. The new TVs were originally to go on sale in early spring of this year.
Consumer electronics maker Toshiba, and Canon, best known for its cameras, are both strong in high-tech products, but Canon is a novice in TV manufacturing. The two now plan to "launch SED TVs in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2007," the companies said in a statement.
A Toshiba spokesman said the partners want to develop lower-cost production methods for the new high-definition TVs before beginning mass production.
SED TVs will offer image quality comparable with cathode-ray tube TVs but be much thinner, Toshiba and Canon said.
The two companies called the launch of SED TVs an "industry milestone" comparable with the introduction of television itself.