Panasonic, Sumitomo team on 40-inch OLEDs for 2010
updated 07:45 am EDT, Fri May 8, 2009
Panasonic 40in OLEDs 2010
Panasonic and chemical producer Sumitomo said (sign up required) on Friday that they have teamed up to accelerate the development of OLED displays. The move will give Panasonic, which is normally known for its LCDs and plasmas, the resources to create panels using the organic technology at sizes of 40 inches or larger by Panasonic's fiscal 2010, possibly outpacing its competition. The company wouldn't say whether it planned to make TVs based on the developments, but Samsung, Sony and others have typically only expected OLED TVs at or near 27 inches in 2009.
OLED is expected to equal or replace LCD within several years and is much more color accurate than the latter thanks both to its organic nature and to the pixels themselves being the light source, which improves the contrast ratio by letting pixels shut off entirely and produce true blacks. The difference also improves power use and, according to Panasonic and Sumitomo, should cut the power draw to a third of a same-size LCD by 2015. [via Reuters]
