OLED TVs: The Latest Offerings From the Sony Stable

Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. released a statement on Monday that it would start marketing its latest television offering, ultra-thin televisions that use organic-light emitting diode (OLED) technology in Japan by December 1 this year.

The company’s statement said these would be the first ever televisions to use OLED technology, and would initially be available only in Japan. The TVs are expected to be only 11-inches in size. Sony has said it would start production in relatively smaller numbers initially, manufacturing only around 2,000 a month.

While the reduced production means the product would not initially make much of an impact on the company’s revenues, executives are still upbeat. Company executives say the TVs would serve another more critical purpose; they would send across a message to the world that Sony was still among the best technology companies around.

Sony, once the undisputed leader in technology products and gadgetry, has taken a heavy hit in recent times, with cutthroat competition from a range of manufacturers across the globe. The impact has been huge enough to make the company ring in a major restructuring process.

Known earlier for its independence when it came to product development, the competition in the markets today has forced Sony to jettison that independence and partner with other manufacturers for its products. It now partners with Samsung Electronics Co. for its range of LCD TVs and with L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co. for its range of mobile phones.

Sony President Ryoji Chubachi said in the company press release that the new products were proof of the resurrection the company was undergoing in terms of technology. Executive Vice President of Sony, Katsumi Ihara, said it would be a while before the new products took over totally from the existing ones in the market. For one, the OLED TVs are expensive, costing approximately Y200,000. They also have half the life span of LCD TVs.

Ihara said the company would be looking to scale up its technology further as the current technology did not have the wherewithal to create more profitable and profitable large-screen TVs. That is why the company was limiting sales to within Japan as of now, he said, and had not set concrete dates for sales outside Japan.

As the term itself indicates, OLED TVs transmit light directly from pixels that are created using organic compounds and placed on screen panels. This technological advancement cuts out the need for color filters or backlights, which are otherwise common features in LCD TVs. It also means there is no need for the miniscule gas chambers seen in plasma products.