As technologies shift, manufacturers need to be able to adapt. Companies that once made telephone landlines were able to survive by shifting their copper wire into producing automobile airbags, as demand for the former slowed and the latter increased.
Remember virtual reality? California-based MicroDisplay does, as they were well-poised to ride that wave in the '90s, with their M.I.T.-developed liquid crystal chip for VR goggles. With that trend now colder than the doctor on House, MicroDisplay believes they have found a way to survive: by producing huge, not-quite-flatscreen TVs.
MicroDisplay's "Liquid Fidelity" televisions, based on unfashionable rear-display technology, have one thing going for them: price. Their 56-incher goes for $1,500, vs. $5,496 and $3,298 for comparable LCD or plasma screens. Now the market will determine whether MicroDisplay has a hit on their hands, or if they will be needing airbags of their own.
[Via CNet.]
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