OLED displays will be a real hit in the near future. We’ll probably see them in more and more big-screen TVs and all sorts of computers and laptops. Take this Rolltop laptop here for example. The whole thing can be rolled up neatly whenever not used. The laptop comes with a flexible multitouch OLED screen which can be adjusted to serve either a 17-inch flat screen or a 13-inch tablet. There aren’t enough details about this concept at this point but we would certainly love to see this baby in action. Did I say it can also be used as a TV?
That’s what the crew out at Contrarian Profits is calling, folks–you don’t hear too much about OLED (organic light emitting diodes) these days, mostly because it doesn’t seem to show up in much stuff at all. But when you look at the transfer of power between the old tube television and the liquid crystal display, you discover that technology moves in cycles, and it’s about time for the OLED to cycle in.
Quoth the Contrarian:
Overall, the OLED display market will grow to $6.2 billion, according to DisplaySearch forecasts. Last year, the total OLED market was worth an estimated $600,000. As you can see, we are looking at exponential growth, with the mobile phone market leading the charge.
But OLED just won’t be part of mobile phones. it’s going to have a piece of every touch screen and home theater display and everything in between. The move is on–but be sure not to be an early adopter. You’ve all seen, firsthand, how the price of LCD and plasma fell through the floor. Wait a while and you’ll be buying OLED goodness at plasma prices.
What you see above are some Lego characters starting in awe at a glass jar. However, what’s actually in the glass jar is what’s important. Kodak has recently used this promo picture to let the world know that they are working on underwater OLED displays.
As of now, they are in their early stages of development but who’s to say in a few years we won’t be seeing underwater home theaters?
Crazy? Yes. Practical? No. Going to happen? Probably.
It was only a few days ago that we first heard of LG’s 15-inch OLED HDTV and that time we knew nothing of a release date or price point.
Today, however, LG has let us know that their 15-inch OLED HDTV will go on sale in South Korea this November and in other markets sometime in 2010. As for a price, well unfortunately we still don’t have anything to go by other than the “ridiculously priced” rumor we heard about with the products unveiling.
IFA 2009 is just around the corner and already we have companies coming forth to tell us what we can except. LG in particular has recently let us know that they will be focusing on putting their AMOLED TV offerings on display at this year’s IFA.
What’s more is LG exec Won Kim went on record of saying that their 15-inch OLED HDTV has been in production since early summer and is expected to hit store shelves in December of 2009.
When will LG launch the first OLED screen you ask? We have an answer for you and it looks like it’s December 2009. This first LG 15-inch OLED screen is already being produced so by December we should see it out in the wild. There’s nothing official just yet so we don’t exactly know how much one will cost. But according to a senior LG staffer, an OLED panel will “cost double, if not triple, the price of an LCD panel.” And let’s not forget that LG might make all these OLED displays for Apple so we’re not exactly sure how these new OLED displays will be used. Will we see 15-inch OLED monitors or will the panels be used in the next generation of MacBooks?
If you were hoping to get a big OLED TV from LG soon then we have some bad news for you. The company has decided to postpone the launch of a 30-inch OLED display to 2012. The company said earlier that it intended to produce 32-inch OLED TVs in 2011 but it looks like that won’t be happening now. What’s the matter LG? Isn’t life that good anymore? Is the economy killing you?
That means for us that we can try the 15-inch OLED TV coming from LG in December. After that you’ll have about three years to test it out before having to decide on whether to buy or not to buy LG’s future 30-inch OLED TV.
OLED applications are no longer just limited to MP3 players and photo frames. Recently, OCZ released its latest OLED gaming plus multimedia keyboard known as the Sabre, incorporated with an impressive list of features. For more efficient access to applications, the keyboard sports nine dynamic OLED user-programmable hotkeys. These OLED keys can convert any text or digital image into distinctive icons.
Touted as a professional gaming keyboard, the OCZ Sabre works with 32bit Windows XP/Vista and uses USB 2.0 interface. In addition, it has 128MB onboard memory and 103 keys. Other innovative features of this keyboard include Amber OLED key lighting, Blue LED sidelighting effect, low-noise key feedback, super tactile and a tilt design of 5 to 10 degrees. The MSRP of the Sabre is yet to be decided and is expected to be priced affordably.
As you can see in the picture here, Samsung is willing to work with your government in order to implement a whole new personal identification concept. These electronic passports have a flexible OLED display ready to show your face to the authorities. The 2-inch 240×320 AMOLED screen will show your rotating head in 260,000 colors with a 10,000:1 contrast. This type of ID is still conceptual. We have no idea when it will be officially launched and what countries will embrace it.
LG released word some time ago that they would begin production of their 15-inch OLED TV sometime this summer but kept quiet about a ship date.
Well, we now know that LG will ship the 15-inch OLED display to the Korean market sometime this December. As for a US ship date, well, we’ll keep you posted.
There is no word on what the specs are but EngadgetHD believes they will be similar to that of the prototype LG showed off back in January: 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 1,366 x 768 resolution and a life span of 30,000 hours.
This TV most likely isn’t big enough to suit the home theater needs of most but its definitely a step in the right direction.
Samsung has finally come out and announced that their 14.1 and 31 inch OLED TVs are ready to enter production.
These production AMOLED TVs are set to go on display this week during SID 2009. For those who don’t know the 31 inch model will feature 1080p resolution (1,920 x 1,080), and a 1 million:1 contrast ratio all crammed into a 8.9mm thick enclosure.
Yeah, these are the real deal but its too bad theres no word on exactly when these are to go into production only that they are ready.
Seiko Epson Corporation is pleased to announce that its Epson Inkjet Technology now enables Uniform Emission for Big-Screen OLED TVs. This new technology is a step ahead towards the 37-inch and even larger full-HD OLED televisions. This technology has been designed to provide outstanding viewing characteristics.
The newly developed Epson Inkjet Technology is a better solution for larger display sized as it enables thin-film layers to be formed through the deposition of liquid organic materials. This technology improves not just quality but also brings the large screen OLED TV closers to realization.
It is considered that the Epson Inkjet Technology is one of the long awaited solutions in the form of an OLED display. To know more details about this newly launched Epson technology, you can visit SID 2009 in San Antonio from June 2nd, 2009 onwards.
Would you buy an OLED TV if offered today? How much would you pay for it? Samsung is working on a 23-inch OLED TV which will be available sometime in 2010. The new displays are said of being capable of 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, DVI/HDMI, 1.6 centimeters in depth. Such an OLED TV is also very eco-friendly as it will meed 40% less energy compared to an LCD. Expect to fork out an impressive amount of cash to get all those features. We’re going to be waiting for the competition to come up with their own OLED panels since Samsung can’t be the only one working on OLED TVs.
We’ve seen various OLED products lately and we have more to show you. Today we have a waterproof OLED display made by Ito Electronics. You’re probably not going to have an OLED TV installed in your pool soon but OLED waterproof displays could be really useful when it comes to watches or cellphones. We have no actual products for now but given this new “packaging technology” used for making them waterproof we should expect prototypes soon.
Is Sony finally going to unveil a big OLED TV? Is that going to happen at the IFA? According to inside sources Sony might just bring those new TVs in September. Jens Heithecker, the executive director of Mess Berlin which is organizing the IFA trade fair said that the show is focused on market ready technologies therefore those large-screen OLED TV might just be real. Besides those new Sony OLED TVs new ultra-widescreen TV sets like that 21:9 from Philips are also suggested to appear soon. If you plan to buy a new TV then you should better wait a couple of months. Summer sounds really hot right now!
Philips has something interesting to show you in Milan later this month. From April 22 to April 27 those going to the Superstudio Piu in Zona Tortona in Milan will be able to check out for themselves Philips OLED Lumiblade exhibit. Lots of different shapes and sizes will be illuminated for your pleasure. Will any of the new designs be available for purchase soon? Unfortunately these OLED devices will only offer you light in weird shapes so we’ll understand if you’re not going to be crazy about them.
With a combination of LED (for backlighting) and OLEDs (text), Dai Nippon has introduced and innovative new light-emitting poster that is sure to become a big hit with the aggressive advertisers looking for ways to spread the word. The LED is emitting a white light behind a printed-color image. The lights are randomly emitted from different areas of the LED, so it appears that the logo and other elements appear and disappear.
There are two OLED panels at the upper side of the poster, and these display scoll-text. The running cost is low - Nippon says that the cost is only 60% of flourescent light. The OLEDs have lifetime of 20,000 hours.
The product is exhibited at the exhibition space of Rakuten Eagles (professional baseball team) in Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Dai Nippon wants to commercialize this product - releasing it in April 2010.
A new ultrathin, ultra flexible OLED light module has been unveiled in Korea. Modistech is the company that manage to make it. We don’t have all the details just yet but it looks like mass production is expected for next year while public availability is scheduled for 2011, a year which is said to represent a boom in the OLED business. (more…)
Philips is thoroughly researching transparent OLED and they have a working prototype. This one works as a light application for windows. How is that useful you ask? Imagine having OLED panels working as light sources 24/7. During the day the sun will light your home while during the night the OLED will offer you some light imitating the natural one. Unfortunately you can’t upgrade your house’ windows with OLED panels anytime soon. Philips will launch them in about 3 years or so.
Everyone seems to want 3D displays these days. And those of you dreaming about a 3D OLED display should get in touch with Eiji Shiko from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He has developed an OLED device ready to emit circularly polarized light in the visible light range. That means 3D OLED displays have just become a reality. When will we see the new technology in action? When will we be able to purchase 3D OLED displays? It might just be too early to tell, but we’ll certainly keep you posted on this one.
Seiko Epson Corporation is pleased to announce that its Epson Inkjet Technology now enables Uniform Emission for Big-Screen 
