Long-term panel partners Samsung and Sony appear to be cooling off on their collaboration. Australian website Channelnews reports that Sony struggled to cough up its half of the funds for a new joint LCD factory and has now stepped down from the construction project.

January 27, 2010 — It’s perhaps a sign of big changes for Sony, which has reportedly seen its share of several countries’ TV markets shrink. Samsung has reduced shipments of LCD panels to Sony from almost half of its total production in late 2008 to less than a quarter in summer 2009, according to figures published yesterday by technology-news website Channelnews. The website also reports that Sony has failed to meet its half of the 0.9bn GBP financial burden for construction of a new plant in China. But this isn’t all necessarily doom and gloom for Sony, which recently announced a 63m GBP investment in a joint venture with Sharp — again, to produce LCD panels. The new Sharp–Sony factory, which is two-thirds owned by Sharp, is located in Sakai, Japan.