Sony to start selling 3-D TVs in June

TOKYO (AP) – Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling 3-D televisions in June, joining a competitive industrywide push to convince consumers to embrace the technology for their living rooms.

The Japanese electronics giant, known for its PlayStation 3 game consoles and Bravia flat-screen TVs, will offer its fully capable 3-D TV model in four sizes this summer.

The 40-inch and 46-inch versions will go on sale on June 10 in Japan, while the 52- and 60-inch TVs will be available starting July 16.

Although the company did not release a global launch date, Sony senior vice president Yoshihisa Ishida said the new TVs will hit stores in the US and other countries around the same time.

The 40-inch 3-D will cost about ¥290,000 ($3,200), and the biggest 60-inch will retail at ¥580,000 ($6,400).

Included are two pairs of Sony’s 3-D glasses, as well as a camera sensor on each unit that will adjust sound and picture quality based on viewers’ positions. A remote control button enables the switch from a regular 2-D image to 3-D.

Sony hopes that 10 percent of the 25 million TVs it aims to sell next fiscal year will be 3-D units.

CEO Howard Stringer has said the Tokyo-based company aims to be profitable in flat-panel TVs and gaming next fiscal year, and is pushing 3-D technology as a key strategy. Interest in 3-D has accelerated recently with the help of three-dimensional blockbusters such as “Avatar” and “Alice in Wonderland,” which earned a record $116.3 million in its opening weekend.

Ishida described the current fiscal year that began last April as a difficult period that forced Sony to focus on restructuring and reversing losses.