Sony bets $210m on OLED, to make larger TVs in 2008

Sony executive Yoshito Shiraishi has revealed at the SID display expo that his company is confident enough in the development of OLED technology that it plans to make a major investment in the technology for the second half of this year. The TV producer will invest the equivalent of $210 million to help it produce larger OLED displays and expects medium-sized and larger versions of the ultra-thin screens to enter production in the same second-half 2008 timeframe. The company expects a larger-still range of OLED panels between 2009 and 2010, Shiraishi says.

The Japanese executive doesn't indicate which sizes are likely to stem from the surge in cash to its efforts, but the company in April began demonstrating a 27-inch TV prototype as well as nearly paper-thin 11-inch and 3.5-inch screens meant alternately as replacements for the XEL-1 and handheld devices. The 27-inch set runs at full 1080p and is a fraction the thickness of LCDs while generating much higher contrast ratios and consuming less power.

At the time, Sony had shied away from committing to producing any of the screens, suggesting that a large investment would be necessary before it could produce more than the XEL-1.

Filed under: gadgets, digital imaging
Other story tags: sony, OLED, XEL-1