On sale from next month in Japan and the rest of the globe at a later date, Panasonic's G2 plasmas offer several choices—42, 46 and 50-inches, and black, silver or a dashing brown color options.

The series has the new Black Panel technology for 20 per cent greater image quality (in comparison to the G1), and with a supposed contrast ratio of 5,000,000 : 1. The 42-inch set will be 220,000 Yen ($2,424) when it goes on sale next month.

Along with the G2s, Panasonic's also let rip with the S2 series, which comes in 42 and 46-inch sizes. There's nothing much special about these panels that have a 2,000,000: 1 contrast ratio, apart from a 10 per cent less energy consumption. The 42-inch set will cost 190,000 Yen ($2,093). [Akihabara News]