Toshiba has announced plans to ship an organic electroluminescence (EL) display in 2009. The target size will be 30 inches, which beats most manufacturers' prototypes currently under development, like
Sony's 27-inch OLED plans. Toshiba had previously planned 2015 as the launch window for OEL (more commonly known as
OLED) sets, a launch timeframe which put them in that
magical future land along with
SED and
FED displays. While Toshiba doesn't expect to compete directly against the
behemoth of LCD at first, they believe the technology's superiority -- which includes lower manufacturing costs, and better viewing angles and contrast -- will be recognized as volume goes up. Your electroluminescent game of
fl0w may never look better.
A bit earlier this year we heard that Panasonic (Matsushita's red-headed stepchild) was vying for a little recognition in the OLED TV game, but outside of that, details were scarce. Now, however, we're being told that the outfit is planning to start selling 40-inch OEL (organic electroluminescent, better known as OLED 'round these parts) televisions "as early as 2011." Reportedly, it will be investing "several billion yen" to construct a prototype production line for OEL panels "20-inches and larger" that will go into service next spring. We'd be pretty stoked if the final product were within sight, but make sure to ring us early on next decade to make sure we haven't completely forgotten about this here promise.
