Samsung to Ship 50-inch 720p 3D TV for Promotion at $989

In a likely harbinger of an aggressively priced fall selling season, ABC Warehouse’s website has begun promoting a Samsung 50-inch 720p plasma 3D TV at $989, down from its $1,089 list price. The PN50C490, which is due in August, drops the entry-level retail for 3D TV below $1,000 for the first time, and retailers we canvassed on the implications said they were still trying to come to grips with what the impact might be.

The PN50C490 has a USB 2.0 and three HDMI connectors and a PC input and will be packaged with two pairs of active-shutter 3D glasses, said retailers we polled. Extra pairs of glasses will sell separately for $199, about $50 higher than Sony or Panasonic models. The PN50C490 will be broadly distributed, as will Samsung’s 1080p PN50C680 50-inch 3D plasma TV, which will be promotionally priced at $1,439, retailers said.

The 680 series, which also will include a 1080p 58-inch model at $2,299, will be sold with a starter kit ($350 separately) that includes two pairs of 3D glasses and the 3D Monsters vs. Aliens Blu-ray movie, retailers said. The two new models will be a bridge to Samsung’s higher-resolution 1080p-capable 8000 and 7000 series 3D TVs that start at $1,999, they said. Discussions with retailers on the new models began 2-3 months ago and pricing was locked in during the last six weeks, they said. The new models are expected arrive at retail by late August, they said. The 50-inch 720p set also will be positioned as a step-up from Samsung’s $719 50-inch plasma set that lacks 3D capability.

The new 720p model enables Samsung to field a “good-better-best” line-up in plasma 3D TVs and will “cause a lot of excitement in the marketplace,” said Daniel Schuh, executive director of AV products at ABC Warehouse. 3D TV pricing is falling faster than many retailers had thought it would, Schuh said. Still, “it’s going to stimulate a lot of activity,” Schuh said. Samsung executives didn’t respond right away to our requests for comment.

Nor were Panasonic executives available to respond right away to our queries about retail reports that the company is readying a GT series of lower-priced 1080p 3D plasma TVs. GT-series sets, to be sold in 46-, 50- and 54-inch sizes, will be priced hundreds of dollars less than those in the company’s first VT series of 3D plasma TV models, retailers said. For example, the VT-series 50-inch P50VT25 sells for $2,599, while the comparably sized GT version will be around $2,000, they said. A 46-inch GT model will be sold through Costco at $1,799-$1,899, they said. Meanwhile, LG, the industry’s only other company that still markets plasma TVs, has no immediate plans to field a 3D plasma set, a spokesman said.