Although it is commonly accepted by industry insiders that CRT TVs will not disappear within at least five years because of their price advantages, the impact of flat screen TVs is an indisputable fact. Among the once 50 color kinescope makers in the world, only 30 have survived and most of them are in China, South Korea and Southeast Asia.

SEG is exploring new business opportunities and mobile electronics is one. It started mobile GPS production five years ago and has become the largest provider in Shenzhen. In 2005, the auto navigation business of SEG generated sales revenue of more than 100 million yuan. SEG also is pursuing other electronics business in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Chengdu and Xi’an.

But as a traditional color kinescope producer, why didn’t it opt to produce flat screen TVs?

“It’s not realistic,” said an SEG official, who requested anonymity. According to this official, the investment threshold of flat displays is much higher. It costs only 1 billion yuan to set up an assembly of color kinescopes while nearly 10 billion yuan is needed for an assembly of LCDs or PDPs. Furthermore, flat screen TVs core technology is in the hands of foreign companies. It is safer for SEG to play a supporting role and the company may produce some supplementary products, the official said.

Unlike SEG, Irico Electronics Group Corp., the largest Chinese color kinescope maker, has cooperated with Changhong to produce PDPs. SVA (Group) Co. Ltd., a large shareholder of Novel Color Picture Tube Co. Ltd., has also cooperated with NEC from Japan in PDP production.

Some other color kinescope makers are even focusing on advancing their kinescope technology. Sheng Jianzhong, General Manager of the No.1 Department of Nanjing Huafei Color Kinescope Co. Ltd., told Beijing Review that the company has produced 21’’ super-slim color kinescopes and 32’’ 16:9 color kinescopes. The company plans to release another two new kinescope products soon.