[NicolasB]

I missed an announcement back in May when Sony announced that they intend to develop a flexible OLED screen. This is quite a small device: 160x120 pixels, but capable of 16.7 million colours and only 0.3mm thick.

Link: http://www.dailytech.com/Worlds+Firs...rticle7429.htm

Or, if you read Japanese: http://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/News/...053/index.html



Toshiba (who are presumably in a panic now that they have lost the IP rights to SED tech) now plan to have a 30-inch OLED display on sale in 2009: http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english...070413/130804/



Some announcements from Samsung too: http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english...071029/141477/

Following small panels used in 2007, 3.5- to 7-inch panels including 4.1-inch panels will be applied to ultra mobile PCs, for example, in 2008. Then we will realize 14-, 15- and 21-inch panels in 2009 and large 40- to 42-inch full HD (high definition) OLED TVs in 2010.
[...]
We will provide a flexible OLED display by 2012 at the latest.

[joshua_bond]

2010 for 40-42" inch OLED....I wonder what the cost would be...5-10,000

[NicolasB]

Toshiba has just announced that it has cancelled plans to introduce an OLED TV in 2009/10.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technolog...135435318.html

The full text of the announcement:

Japan's Toshiba Corp said on Tuesday it had shelved plans to sell ultra-thin TVs with organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays in 2009/10 because of the cost of mass production.

Toshiba will stick to its plans to commercialise smaller OLED displays for cellphones next year, and will watch markets and technological developments to see whether making OLED TVs is commercially viable later, Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori said.

Home electronics rival Sony Corp began sales of 11-inch OLED TVs in November, but the development costs have limited its shipments to 2000 units per month.

Display and TV makers see OLED displays as a possible growth driver, as they produce brighter images, use less power, and are thinner because they do not need the backlights used in liquid crystal displays.

In April, Toshiba had said it aimed to market 30-inch OLED TVs in the business year to March 2010.

[Speedoguy]

Thought it might be appropriate to mention this here (orig posted by old Mr Robot in home cinema news section).Seems that Panasonic,Canon & Hitachi have combined to commence production of OLED.Sony might have some competition after all.

In a groundbreaking deal, three Japanese CE giants are planning to join forces to develop OLED TVs. Matsushita (parent of Panasonic), Canon and Hitachi are expected to sign a multi-billion-yen deal to co-develop OLED into a mass-market TV proposition. The alliance will invest upwards of 300 billion yen to make organic electroluminescent panels for TV, camcorder and digital camera use. As part of the deal, Matsushita and Canon may convert an existing panel production facility currently owned by Hitachi; alternatively the trio will build an entirely new facility. By splitting the investment across three companies the group will reduce the huge risks associated with developing what is considered to be a difficult technology. It also puts all three in a better position to combat Sony, which has taken a lead in developing OLED displays. Toshiba recently ruled itself out of the OLED gold rush, citing difficulties associated with large-screen OLED manufacturing.

from :
http://avzombie.com/blog/2007/12/19/...-develop-oled/

not being funny here but it be a few years before we see flexible screens of a decent size at a sensible price. the price would have to be less than £1500 at todays prices before they sell in large numbers. and the size would have to beover 32 inches. with £10k being banted about for a large OLED its just well out of the average mans pocket. large i mean anything over 50 inches.
I remember some years back must be late 90s i met a guy who had a 21 inch LCD connected to his PC. it cost £2k.(import) the only LCDs at that time i had seen was 17 inch and 15inch. Very few people had one of these unless they used it in professional graphics. this was imported and not available here in uk.. plasma s cheap and Large LCDs also dropping in price. so why buy a OLED or any of the new screens that are comeing out unless you have to have the latest thing or just got too much to spend

[Pezerinno]

Same applies for all tech really; a few will buy at the start and take the premium. Eventually it will come down to current plasma/LCD levels by which time there will be something supposedly better in the pipeline.

[NicolasB]

Samsung will be showing a prototype 31" OLED screen at CES.

Samsung SDI officials declined to say when the company's 31-inch OLED screen would be mass-produced, saying the decision depended on TV set makers' plans.

But they said Samsung Electronics... the world's largest maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs, would showcase a 31-inch prototype TV set at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January.

Samsung SDI is also planning to mass-produce 14-inch screens in 2008, Yoo Eui-jin, head of Samsung SDI's AM-OLED team, said at a press conference introducing the display.

Although Yoo declined to name the companies that would use the AM-OLED screens, he said a number of companies had expressed interest.

Samsung SDI said its 31-inch module is only 4.3 mm thick, or one-tenth of a typical liquid crystal display panel, and consumed less than half the electricity needed for a 32-inch LCD screen.

Samsung SDI also said the lifespan of its display was 35,000 hours, the best performance among existing AM-OLEDs.

Full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/techn...071227?sp=true

[TarMoo]

Sony announced this week that they are stopping production of read projection TVs as the market for them is dropping rapidly. They will focus on LCD and OLED - see Sony rethinks flat screen focus. Sony has been losing $250 million a quarter from their TV division, so it looks like nobody is making a lot of money from flat screens at the moment. Sony's LCD panels are made by a joint venture with Samsung in South Korea, so perhaps Sony are looking to be more independent of the Koreans with the next generation of screens.

It looks as it Toshiba is going to sit on the sidelines as far as large OLED screens are concerned. Devices with low power requirements like MP3 players, cell phones and laptops look to be more promising OLED applications in the short term.

Japanese LCD manufacturers are consolidating (see here). Hitachi, Canon and Panasonic are joining forces in one group and Toshiba and Sharp in another. Canon and Hitachi also plan to work together on OLED displays