When you say plasma display most of us immediately think of a big flat panel TV. In the home theater realm plasma is losing ground to LCD displays as LCDs improve in contrast and brightness. For years now LCD has been the dominate player in the cell phone industry for displays.

Panasonic and AbleComm announced today that Panasonic would be building a cell phone that uses a small plasma display to operate on the newly announced AT&T Mobile TV service. The small screen will require only 1.5 volts to operate and will require no special wiring or power supplies.

If you are wondering why a plasma display would be needed on a cell phone the answer is the same reason plasmas were popular in home theaters. A plasma display can typically provide more contrast and a brighter image than comparable LCD displays of the same size.

Press Release