Sony takes pre-orders of the XEL-1 OLED TV, launch date still 1st December

Sony's direct sales site, SONY STYLE, began yesterday 14th novemver with pre-sales of the worlds first OLED TV "XEL-1". Direct sales price is a standard price and the same 200 000 yen ($ 1 806) , but a 3 year warranty service has been included in the price. Additions and shipping date is undetermined but "XEL-1" release date is set to 1st December.

Sony's Home:
Http://www.sony.co.jp/

Sony's sales page:
Http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Qnavi/Detail/XEL-1.html

New release:
Http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200710/07-1001/

Product information:
Http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/oel/index.html

Samsung takes on Sony's new OLED TV release

With just about a month to go until Sony puts the world's first OLED (organic light emitting diode) television on sale, two rival display makers took the wraps off their latest OLED TV panel prototypes at an exhibition in Japan the previous week. OLED technology is being fiercely developed by many panel makers because it offers a brighter, more vivid picture than today's LCD panels. And because OLED pixels emit their own light a backlight isn't required, meaning OLED TVs use less power and are also much thinner - the Sony set is just 3mm thick. Samsung Electronics was showing three prototype TVs based on 14in OLED panels. That's larger than the 11in screens that are in the new Sony TVs but a close look at the Samsung panels revealed some imperfections. In each of the three prototypes on display were pixels locked to a single colour.

The problems stem from difficulties that remain in the manufacturing stage, said a Samsung representative on the company's stand at the FPD Expo in Yokohama. Samsung is one of the world's largest manufacturers of LCD panels and the OLED screens on display were designed to be manufactured using an existing TFT LCD production process. That presents some hurdles now but could mean big cost savings in the future because Samsung won't have to invest in a new factory to make the screens.

Sony OLED TV could land in US in 2007

Sony's XEL -1 could be available in the US before 2008 depending on how well it fares in Japan, company electronics president Stan Glasgow has told journalists at a press gathering. While the 11-inch set is only officially slated to launch in Japan on December 1st, a relatively modest reception in the country or a favorable supply of OLED panels could lead to an early US release, possibly reaching stores by the holidays. The set would require a change to the format of its analog and digital TV tuners to accommodate American signals but could remain unchanged from its original design, which sports HDMI, Ethernet, and USB connections and generates an unprecedented 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

Pricing for the US version of the XEL-1 was not discussed; the TV is comparatively expensive at the equivalent of roughly $1,800 in Japan after taxes but may decrease in price for its transition to the US. Sony plans to release larger OLED TVs in the future but does not expect these for the next one to two years.

Samsung's OLED roadmap - 21" monitors by 2009, 42" Full HD TV by 2010

Samsung has published their OLED roadmap for the coming years. In 2008 they want to have 3.5 to 7 inch displays - for ultra-mobile PCs or PDAs. In 2009 they will have 14"-21" panels, to be used in laptops and desktop monitors. In 2010 they expect to commercialize 40"/42", Full HD OLED TVs.

Samsung also expects to have flexible displays out soon - they cannot commit to a date, but they say 2012 at the latest

Read more here (Engadget)

OLED - LCD TV's worst nightmare

Thinner. Blacker. Brighter. Faster. Better colour. More energy-efficient. Wide viewing angles. These are but some of the advantages of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display technology, coming soon to a high-definition television near you. What's that, you say? You just dropped a few thousand on an LCD or plasma TV?

Don't worry - you have some time to exhale: The first commercially available OLED TV screen is only 11 inches (measured diagonally), and will be available exclusively to the Japanese market when it debuts this holiday season.Even so, it's hard not to get excited about this promising display type, which is predicted to replace flat-panel LCD and plasma televisions in a few years. What is it? An OLED display stacks several thin layers of materials that operate on the attraction between positively and negatively charged particles. When voltage is applied, it stimulates organic material between the positive and negative particles, which emits luminescent light visible through a layer of glass. To enhance the colour or brightness, manufacturers can add complex chains of molecules (polymers) to the carbon-based layers. Unlike LCDs, which require backlighting, OLED displays are "emissive" devices, meaning they emit light rather than modulate transmitted or reflected light. "Because light is generated by the diodes themselves, we're talking extremely thin panels at just 1.4 millimetres - even with the TV frame, an OLED TV is only three millimetres thick," says Patrick Lapointe, marketing manager for LCD televisions at Sony of Canada. Full article here: Canada.com

Creating light - OLED

Oleds from Samsung, Epson and CMEL at FPD-International in Yokohama

Samsung Electronics was showing three prototype TVs based on 14in OLED panels. CMEL shows som 25-inch AMOLED panel, CMEL will also introduce 11- and 12-inch panel production and expects to offer 32-inch AMOLED panels during 2010. apan's Seiko Epson, which has been researching OLED technology for many years, was displaying five prototype 8in OLED panels. In contrast to the Samsung panels, the Epson ones didn't have any visible defects and offered a bright, smooth and crisp image. The screens, which are 3mm thick, attracted a crowd at the show - many more people than the company expected, a representative confided.

What is OLED?

OLED means Organic light emitting diode and is emerging as a leading next-generation technology for electronic displays and lighting. OLED can be used as display technology or as light source.

One of the great benefits of an OLED display over the traditional LCD displays is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. This means that they draw far less power and, when powered from a battery, can operate longer on the same charge. It is also known that OLED-based display devices can be more effectively manufactured than liquid-crystal and plasma displays. However, degradation of OLED materials have limited the use of these materials.

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a special type of light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive layer comprises a thin-film of certain organic compounds. The emissive electroluminescent layer can include a polymeric substance that allows the deposition of very suitable organic compounds, for example, in rows and columns on a flat carrier by using a simple "printing" method to create a matrix of pixels which can emit different colored light. Such systems can be used in television screens, computer displays, portable system screens, advertising and information, and indication applications etc. OLEDs can also be used in light sources for general space illumination.

Why is OLED a next generation display technology?

Vibrant colors
High contrast
Excellent grayscale
Full-motion video
Wide viewing angles from all directions
A wide range of pixel sizes
Low power consumption
Low operating voltages
Wide operating temperature range
Long operating lifetime
A thin and lightweight form factor
Cost-effective manufacturability

Toshiba to sell 30-inch OLED TV in 2009

The drive toward an OLED TV future is gathering pace with Toshiba trumping Sony's OLED annoucement. Toshiba says it plans to sell a 30-inch OLED TV by 2009, slashing the expected on sale date by five to six years.

Toshiba is obviously hoping to have been able to address many of the shortcomings of organic electroluminescence technology by then. OLED TV panels are said to be difficult to make in large sizes, and currently have a shorter lifespan than LCD - that's 30,000 hours for OLED, compared to 50,000 hours with LCD.

However Toshiba's president and CEO Atsutoshi Nishida was quoted by TechOn back in April as saying: "We don't expect that the organic EL can compete from the beginning on the equal footing with the LCD TV, which is released from many manufacturers across the world, but we believe its superiority will be recognised as production volume rises."

Sony confirms 11" OLED TVs by December

Sony says their 11" OLED TVs will be on the market by december this year.

Sony will only sell a handful of these screens (a thousand or so a month) and it will be pricey. They will only be available in Japan.

Read more here (Engadget)