Plasma TV Back From the Dead

Plasma TV's rollercoaster ride continues as the technology given up for dead more than a year ago has made a booming sales comeback, Reuters reports. Demand in the developing world, especially in China, is driving the upswing. LCD technology seemed until recently to have trampled plasma, but it turns out many consumers prefer plasma's crisper image quality.

Still, plasma has yet to find its niche, warn critics. Profits now concentrate in small TVs sold at competitive prices in developing countries, but plasma is looking to reposition itself as a high-end niche product. Amidst all the identity confusion—and a coming onslaught of cheaper mass-produced 50-inch LCD TVs—plasma could face another slump in 2009. (More Plasma TV stories.)