Panasonic New Products Launch 2014


[Gadgets & Tech]

 
I rarely go up to Genting Highlands to attend events as I’m simply rather lazy to make the journey all the way up, attend the event then come back down however I was quite curious to see what new products Panasonic had in store for 2014 therefore I called up the nice folks at Subaru Malaysia and got a Forester to test drive for a couple of days.
So we headed up to Genting Highlands on 23 April 2014 in the Forester for Panasonic Malaysia’s 2014 Convention and media preview of their latest lineup. Panasonic Malaysia didn’t disappoint and unveiled a range of innovative products under their global brand slogan, “A better life, a better world”, which aims to provide customers with better living solutions for a more enriched lifestyle, and in the process create healthier, more comfortable homes with their sustainable energy solutions which contribute to a more sustainable world. Among some of the highlights of the event was the launch of their new Automatic Bread Maker, the latest range of air-conditioners and VIERA TVs.
“A better life, a better world is Panasonic’s brand slogan, which is a reflection of our global strategy in contributing to a more fulfilled, happier society around the world. As the number one brand in Malaysia, we strive to enrich the lives of Malaysian families through an eco, healthy and comfortable lifestyle,” said Yosuke Matsunaga, Managing Director of Panasonic Malaysia.
“Here at Panasonic Malaysia, we never stop working towards a better life for Malaysians by creating better and more sustainable living solutions through our products, be it at home or industrial spaces,” he adds. “The new models we are introducing today are packed with state-of-the-art technologies that demonstrates our commitment to provide products that each exemplifies our focus on user convenience, comfort and energy efficiency, features that enhances quality of living for our customers.”
First to be unveiled was the Panasonic Bread Maker SD-P104, which is designed with unique preset bread baking programs with inside and outside temperature sensors that helps to achieve consistent loaf quality. The SD-P104 is so simple to use that all you need to do is place all the ingredients in the machine and set the time you want the machine to start baking (ie. taking into account what time you want the bread ready for example at 7.00am just in time for breakfast) and the machine will do the rest. New features like the yeast dispenser automatically drops yeast at optimum timing by detecting room and inside-pan temperature, while the raisin and nut dispenser automatically distributes dried fruit, chopped nuts and seeds evenly for better bread texture.
 
The star product of the launch
Dato’ Fadzley giving us a little demonstration

We even got to try his breads and they were delicious. No doubt because they were made by a chef.
                                                             

 
The SD-P104 has been tested suitable for all levels of expertise by the collaboration between Panasonic Cooking and AEON TOPVALU. TOPVALU will be introducing an Organic Flour, recommended as the most suitable for the Panasonic bread maker, and is currently available at all AEON Outlets by middle of May 2014. This new breadmaker makes it easy for users to bake nutritious and delicious bread with minimum effort.
 

 
Panasonic’s new range of air conditioners creates an energy-saving match by combining both the ECONAVI Eco Sensors Technology and Intelligent Inverter Compressor Control Technology which better enhances cooling in the room, keeping customers comfortable while achieving an eco-friendly lifestyle.
The brand also announced the launch of an additional new category, the Semi Deluxe Econavi category, on top of the existing Inverter Deluxe and Deluxe Econavi range. This increases the total ECONAVI models from 10 models to a total 14 models to cater the growing consumer’s need and budget.
The ECONAVI Eco Sensors are divided into two major sensors – Human Activity Sensor and Sunlight Sensor. Upon start-up, it automatically senses the activity and condition of the room’s environment and sends the data to the INVERTER. The INVERTER Technology, which is part of the Outdoor Compressor unit, is responsible to receive data from the ECONAVI sensor, which then varies compressor rotation speed to maintain a comfortable yet eco and precise room temperature.
The ECONAVI + INVERTER works together intelligently to provide cooling comfort while helping consumers to save energy and money. Panasonic claims to be able to help achieve up to 65% of energy savings with optimised cooling so customers can now enjoy uninterrupted cooling comfort without wastage. 
 

 
On top of the COOL & ECO benefits, Panasonic has also improved the nanoe-G (indoor unit Air Purifying System) to help tackle current air pollution issues, and  can effectively remove haze particles or commonly known as PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter 2.5) helping customers achieve better air quality within their living spaces.
 

 
For 2014, Panasonic has announced an entirely new TV category known as Life+ Screen which goes “Beyond Smart TV and introduced 23 TV models including their flagship 65’ and 85’ 4K TVs.
 

Smart controller (on the left) with a touchpad similar to your laptop versus the normal controller on the right
 
Conventional Smart TVs increased the variety of available content by connecting to the Internet. However the functions and operations, however the trade-off of this was that the functions were considerably more complicated.
Panasonic’s Life+ Screen solves this problem, by having the TV adjusts itself to fit the user, instead of the user adjusting to suit the TV. “I think TV should be inherently easy to use. Life+Screen was created from the user’s standpoint and goes beyond difficult-to-use smart TVs”, says Matsunaga.
The My Stream feature brings up a wide variety of content, including HDD content, web bookmarks online video, through an intuitive user interface, while the improved my Home Screen feature allows users to register and personalise their favourite apps and content for easy access. For even more personalised browsing, the Home Screen now comes with ‘my Food Screen’ which is a food-related app that comes preset with the Open Rice app, Try Masak and IM Food Lover that offers a directory of local restaurants, recipes and a social platform for users to view and engage with others. This custom Panasonic feature is currently only available in Malaysia.
 

I was thrilled that there was new Lumix camera previewed during the launch – a new 4K Lumix nonetheless!
The GH-4 was hooked up to a Panasonic 4K TV to show us the quality. Of course since I didn’t use a 4K camera to shoot this photo you can’t really see the difference in this pic but the colours actually looked very natural.
Spotted some eye candy – Panasonic promoter girl
 
There were also a whole host of other products previewed to us.
AV and Hi-Fi
                                                   
(click on the individual photos above to open a larger version)
High tech smart washing machine
Commercial fridges
Consumer fridge
Commercial freezers

Home lighting solutions using the latest in LED lighting technology
 
More info at www.panasonic.com.my