Jason Dunn
04-13-2004, 08:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5190624.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=news' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5190624.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=news</a><br /><br /></div>"Despite its initial failure, Canon is confident of succeeding in the flat-panel display market on its second try, asserts its chief executive. The imaging and printing company diversified into displays in 1995 with a 14.5-inch ferroelectric liquid-crystal display (LCD). Because Canon was the sole backer of the technology at that time, developments costs were high, which led to higher prices for the product. Rivals like Sharp reaped the benefits of commoditization by putting their weight behind LCDs based on the more mainstream technology known as thin film transistor. <br /><br />Ferroelectric LCDs "were abandoned because they cannot give cost reductions," Canon CEO Fujio Mitarai said. However, he told reporters at a news conference here that he is "quite confident" the company's second crack at flat panels will yield better returns."<br /><br />The fact that Canon made an LCD monitor in 1995 was news to me! I'm a big fan of their cameras and printers, so who knows, a Canon LCD monitor may be in my future.