10 September 2007
Dubai: Any product designed for outdoor use in the UAE must cope with searing temperatures, dust, sand and the occasional winter downpour.
Japanese electronics company Sanyo is using Gitex to showcase a 32 and 42 inch LCD TV, which company officials say is up to the test.
The product is waterproof, can keep out oil, smoke and dust, and has an anti-corrosion frame, the company says.
Michael Fox, mechanical engineering manager at Sanyo Industries, said the TV was intended primarily for markets where a smoking ban in indoor public places such as pubs has created demand for outdoor entertainment.
But he told Gulf News that the company is also targeting the Middle East, where the product retails for approximately Dh28,000.
"We've already sold quite a few in the UK and US and we expect it to do well here. It could be used at outdoor public places such as bars, restaurants, pubs and swimming pools and we also expect sales to individual buyers for residential use," he said.
Fox said the TV went through a series of UK tests before it was declared weatherproof. This included placing it in a chamber full of swirling talcum powder for eight hours to simulate exposure to fine dust, and firing jets of water at it.
A security bolt has been fitted to the anti-corrosive frame to help prevent theft, Fox added.
However, the UAE's summer could be the product's achilles heel. Fox said the TV is designed for use in a maximum temperature of 45 degrees. The UAE's summer temperature climbs into the high 40s, but drops down to the mid-20s in winter.
By Robert Ditcham
Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.
