HDTVs Supersized at CES

There were a handful of monster HDTVs shown off at CES that I saw: an 82-inch Bravia LCD from Sony, a 100-inch LG LCD, LG's 102-inch plasma, a 103-inch plasma from Panasonic and Sharp's 108-inch Aquos LCD. All are 1080p but I believe that only the Panasonic is actually available for sale today (at a rather hefty $70,000).

LG also announced that it has slashed the price of its smaller but much more affordable 71-inch plasma to a nickel below $15,000, an 80% reduction from its price when launched a year ago.

This one-upsmanship in oversized HDTVs has become the equivalent of the nuclear arms race. No one's actually going to buy these things except maybe a few pro athletes or Hollywood stars, but the manufacturers feel the need to at least prototype them so they can brag about their size. They're pretty incredible to see in person but I doubt we'll being seeing them in local retail showrooms anytime soon.

I'll try to upload some pics I took with my Treo later today.