It says in June, anyone get release date?

with the new Samsung 8 series is almost same 1 inch depth, and 50" price is 2K, will Panasonic be able to sell in $5999? :)

Wireless functionality will drive sales. The Z1 represents a technology showpiece as the first fully wireless panel that presumably will work well. This allows for a high price for early adopters. The thinness is the secondary element driving the high price, but you must remember that the wireless will be the main differentiator here.

That price will drop as well, how much remains to be seen. I expect street prices will settle in around 4-5K until serious competition enters the wireless game and then they will drop further (probably in 2010). In the mean time, high-end installations (which are not concerned with price) will gobble these up with people looking for the cleanest installation possible. The volumes will of course be way lower than their other series of panels but even if the very high-end Z1 does not make money in this economy they have their other more profitable lines to even it out.

So really there is no true competitor to the Z1 and thus it is priced accordingly. Panny has actually shown that it can succeed with high prices if nobody else is in the market. Somehow they have sold a ton of their 103 inch panels going for 50k :eek:

One thing is sure, I can't wait to see one of these.

I'd take the 850/860 over the Z1 any day. Just as thin and has the tuner built in. Picture quality is also solidly superior on the Samsung from what I've seen (since the Z1 will be no different than the G10 in that regard). I'm talking about color accuracy, processing, and black level. Moreover it handles glare better with its single layer of glass. And it's significantly cheaper to boot. I personally don't care about the wireless on the Z1 since I don't wall mount my TV's.

Consumer Reports and Cnet are showing leadership in reporting display power consumption. Current plasma technology is taking a beating and is about to become obsolete. Samsung 2009 models released so far get quite warm. Minimal investment during the recession?.
The 860 is supposed to be a lot more energy efficient and also have better performance. Its the best chance to topple the Kuro this year. Note that Samsung raises the MSRP to very high levels for introduction, if the hype level is high. In general be careful in buying Samsung products as you may not be getting all you think (they frequently cut corners or have defects).

Panasonic has limiting distribution of their high-end models and have a 65" panels for $10,000. Certainly a Kuro killer on price alone.
Good luck!

well Z1 will get more LCD competitor later this year, samsung B9000/LG LH95/SONY XBR10?, :D All of them are Local dimming with 1 inch thick.