Sony Bravia Z5500 TVs to launch in two waves

What a scandal: Sony's new Bravia Z5000 line is on sale already, but it still hasn't been tested by DigitalVersus!  Please accept our apologies--but it really isn't our fault: it's because Sony is launching these new products in two stages.

Sony 40Z5500	Sony 46Z5500	Sony 52Z5500
Multizone AV 1069.95 Digitech Electronics 1072.45 Hiwayhifi.com 1129.95 Home Cinema TV 1149.99 Amazon Marketplace UK 1155.00 OYYY 1205.71 Compare prices	Multizone AV 1528.00 1staudiovisual.c- o.uk 1528.14 Hiwayhifi.com 1529.95 Digitech Electronics 1536.75 Jack in the Box Electrical 1560.00 Amazon Marketplace UK 1656.00 Compare prices	Digitech Electronics 1959.00 1staudiovisual.c- o.uk 1959.74 Home Cinema TV 1979.00 Pixmania.co.uk 2041.00 Jack in the Box Electrical 2050.00 Hiwayhifi.com 2155.95 Compare prices

As far back as the start of May, some of these TVs arrived in Europe with no accompanying publicity.  We heard about them back then, but ever since, there's been no word.

Sony has just explained what's going on: the Z5500 will be launched in two waves.  They've been available in limited numbers in a small handful of stores since the beginning of the summer, but their official launch will come in September, when they will be much more widely available.

Will more competition lead to lower prices?  We certainly hope so ...