Sony to Sell OLED TV in Europe in 2009

Sony will expand sales of its 11-inch OLED (organic light emitting diode) television to Europe in 2009. According to Japan's influential Nikkei business newspaper, Sony will indeed by selling an OLED TV – most likely an updated version of the XEL-1 – in Europe some time next year. Sony didn't confirm the report but said the XEL-1 television has received a positive reception from consumers in Japan and so an expansion of sales into other markets is being considered.Should Sony decide to launch the set in Europe the announcement could come as soon as the IFA trade show, which begins on Aug. 29 in Berlin and is Europe's largest consumer electronics show.

Sony's XEL-1 has won broad praise for its thinness and bright, vivid images. But at around ¥200,000 (US$1,829) in Japan and around US$2,500 in the U.S. the TV set remains too pricey for most consumers. For Sony to significantly expand sales it will need to increase production from the current 2,000 sets it manufactures per month but technical hurdles remain as OLED is a new technology and production processes are still being refined. The company is planning to invest over $200 million in the mass production of larger OEL screens by the end of this fiscal year. Sony is not alone: Matsushita (Panasonic) is expected to build prototype 40-inch OLED displays in early 2009, with plans of offering them to Japanese customers in 2011. Samsung plans to roll out 14-inch OLED TVs in 2010.

Projected growth of OLED TV

DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in display market research and consulting, has released the Q2'08 Worldwide Flat Panel Forecast Report showing what applications will grow the fastest over the next eight years. The report forecasts a 167% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for shipments of OLED panels from 2007 to 2015. The CAGR of shipments for mini-note PC applications may be 74% over the coming eight years.

"OLED TV and mini-note PC applications are the next big opportunity for flat panel suppliers," explained David Barnes, VP of Strategic Analysis for DisplaySearch. He added, "Last year, we identified the potential for digital picture frame demand to lead unit growth. That application is still growing strong but these two applications will be even stronger."

Shipments of flat panels for all applications decreased 12% from Q4'07 to 881.7 million units on normal seasonal weakness in Q1'08. Compared to Q1'07, shipments increased 15%, led by demand for mini-note PC, digital picture frames and portable navigation devices. On a unit share basis, mobile phone applications consumed 45.8% of all flat panels in Q1'08. By comparison, the next largest consumption came from conventional PC applications for desktop and laptop displays, which used 9.1% of the flat panels shipped. Panels for LCD TV and Plasma TV sets comprised 3.5% of shipments. On a display area basis, TFT LCD technology provided 88.6% of total FPD area in Q1'08. PDP technology delivered 9.4% and OLED delivered 0.1% of the total.

The Quarterly Worldwide Flat Panel Forecast Report covers all flat panel and CRT technologies in 40 categories of applications. The report provides historical data from 2006 through 2008 and forecasts demand through 2015. Clients obtain detailed data in spreadsheet formats that allow them to create custom studies or create presentations using formatted tables and charts provided.