Sony XEL-1 hands-on

It's one thing to swoon all over Sony's 3-millimeter thin XEL-1 OLED while being keenly observed by likely armed guards. It's another to bust this baby out in the comfort of one's home. Our comrades over at the Spanish branch were able to do just that, and of course, they snapped a few glamor shots before ruining its allure with fingerprints. Curiously enough, their model arrived sans an Ethernet port -- needless to say, we're still waiting to find out the story behind that. Grab anything that can work as a drool rag and hit up the gallery below.

Gallery: Sony XEL-1 hands-on

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[JAmerican @ Mar 18th 2008 11:53PM]

WOW! Never thought I'd see the day a monitor would be thinner than my phone. LOL

[Blaktornado @ Mar 19th 2008 1:07PM]

http://www.ecojoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/old_school_cellphone.jpg

Me neither... *sigh*

[Naveed @ Mar 19th 2008 3:34PM]

they have these on display at the sonystyle store in Houston, and they were playing disney's "Cars" from a blu-ray player.

regardless of the resolution, the picture quality was sick.

[James Cameron @ Mar 19th 2008 11:25PM]

Had a chance seeing it at a Sony store today. I am totally impressed!!! Time to bring in 30+ inch OLED!!

[skypilot @ Mar 18th 2008 11:58PM]

its a nice looking TV and all but for something that pretty, the remote it comes with is as ugly as hell

[alex @ Mar 19th 2008 2:47AM]

i think it's cool in a futuristic-80's kind of way :)

[tiger08 @ Mar 18th 2008 11:59PM]

too small to be used as a TV, but can you use it as a computer monitor? I think so, correst me if Im wrong, get the DVI into HDMI plug, and ur set to go...or buy a nVidia 9800 GX2 and hook it up HDMI to HDMI...am i right?

[itsnotabigtruck @ Mar 19th 2008 12:05AM]

It only has a res of 960 x 540. :(

So...too small to be used as a TV, too low res for a PC. *What* is this thing supposed to be for again?

[tiger08 @ Mar 19th 2008 12:09AM]

cant they change that with firmware updates?

[DarkLightConnection Unbanned @ Mar 19th 2008 12:12AM]

itsnotabigtruck: It is supposed to be for demonstrating that OLED on bigger-than-chinese-mp4 screens is real and can kick a$$es, not really meant to be bought by mere mortals just yet

[Chuckles McGee @ Mar 19th 2008 12:25AM]

I guess I could imagine it being mounted in a kitchen or other nook for watching the news or something casual-ehh, it's base is actually too big for that...ok, it's ridiculously expensive and entirely impractical. It's Sony's way of saying to the world, "Yes World, I can make a normal, TV-sized OLED, semi-mass produce it, stick it in a box, and sell it to people". One of those angsty teen things-it doesn't have to make sense.

[tokyo_suicide @ Mar 19th 2008 12:47AM]

It helps rich people to feel good about themselves.

[Josh @ Mar 19th 2008 9:20AM]

The one Samsung made in 14 inch is 1080P, so it can be done. It is just Sony that decided not to make it HD.

[Jeremy K. @ Mar 18th 2008 11:58PM]

Cool! What about some pictures of it in action?

[peshue @ Mar 19th 2008 12:06AM]

That is really slick. To bad that big base makes the slim screen kinda pointless.

[soviet_vexxer @ Mar 19th 2008 12:23AM]

thats what i've been thinking all along. whats the point if it has the same footprint as a crt.

[Homeboy @ Mar 19th 2008 7:35AM]

Welcome to the brotherhood guys. I made the same comment about this baby last year and I instantly got neged. Like I have said in the past I'm in no way impressed by this device. It's not difficult to make an ultra thin telly if you stuff all the electronics in an external box, heck the screen on my laptop is thin like crazy as well.

It's all really nothing but a marketing gimmick somewhat like the Macbook Air. There only remarkable aspect of this screen is the OLED technology.

[Deaner @ Mar 19th 2008 9:14AM]

Despite of the oversized base Sony opted for a 16v input necessitating another power brick. poor form.

[ScooterDe @ Mar 19th 2008 9:34AM]

right on, brotherhood of naysayers. I'm with you here. The base looks like an 80's VCR. I think it's all smoke and mirrors. Sony is busy telling us to look at the thin screen, and people are not noticing the ugly fat base (to which the necessary components have been relocated). Sorta reminds me of a laptop - very thin screen attached to a base containing all the magic.

[CT A @ Mar 19th 2008 12:09AM]

The Ethernet port is for the Internet Video Link Sony has been pushing for lately.

Did you even read what it said on the box? It says "Internet Video Link" You can't miss it.

http://www.engadget.com/photos/sony-xel-1-hands-on/706050/

[CT A @ Mar 19th 2008 12:11AM]

Blah Never mind. I skipped the "Sans".

My Apologies ^^.

.... Why doesn't say Internet Video Link if it doesn't have an Ethernet port? Wtf?

[jbcaro @ Mar 19th 2008 12:11AM]

Great to be able to make something thin for the sake of being thin, but now make it fat and get rid of that god-awful stand. Please!!

[JAmerican @ Mar 19th 2008 12:11AM]

Anyone else notice Engadget en espanol has no comments in their posts.

[JAmerican @ Mar 19th 2008 12:12AM]

Also, engadget's old logo had a picture of a PowerBook Titanium. That would explain the Apple following. LOL

[DarkLightConnection Unbanned @ Mar 19th 2008 12:15AM]

Engadget in Spanish sucks - no offense, that's really where I should be, but it's sooo behind engadget in English

[umm....hello??? @ Mar 19th 2008 12:40AM]

TRANSLATED IN ENGLISH (by Google) and slightly edited for proper grammar by myself:

Today we received our TV XEL-1 Sony, and it is thin. We had already talked about the characteristics, and to say that it has a width of 3mm can be impressive, but even more so when it is seen in person. It has a 11-inch screen with 960 x 540 resolution, 2 HDMI inputs, a USB port (for service), a slot for Memory Sticks, and entry for coaxial cable. We were supposed to have a Ethernet connector, but ours lacked one. In short, so that you are not bored with more words, look at these exquisite pictures in our gallery.

[Derek @ Mar 19th 2008 12:17AM]

I saw one of these today at the Sony Style store, and it is a very nice screen. This is THIN guys. I used to own a VZ90, which had a OLED screen, and they are amazing technology.

[Chuckles McGee @ Mar 19th 2008 12:27AM]

monitor=display
phone= display+battery+other processor junk

I'd see it.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Mar 19th 2008 12:53AM]

Remember first generation plasma TV? At the time they were the ultimate in cool, but by today's HDTV standards, they really lack what is desired: Longevity, cost, size, resolution, colour, contrast, etc. As with any first generation product, it's advised you not be an early adopter and wait for the technology and cost to improve simultaneously. In 6 years you will have an OLED that is cheaper, bigger, and better than the puny little XEL-1.

[g4scott @ Mar 19th 2008 1:39AM]

They've had this at the sony store in Austin for a while. I always figured it's been on sale for a while, since it had a price tag by it.

Is this the first guy to actually buy one?

When they start putting these screens in laptops, give me a call...

[frankXchange @ Mar 19th 2008 2:22AM]

Who put that nice screen on my old alarm clock?

[kyle allen @ Mar 19th 2008 4:17AM]

ben heck

[bebop @ Mar 19th 2008 3:20AM]

My coworker got one as a wedding present recently - we work on organic electronics, so its a self-investment if you like - anyhow... yeah, its kinda neat and kinda cheezy in equal measure. The really vivid colors, uber-thinnness, and 180 degree viewing angle are the good points. Unfortunately its really too small to be of any practical use as a TV, unless you have it on a desk you are somehow sitting at (working?) and watching TV at the same time...

Those with long memories may remember that the first LCD TVs were 7 or 8 in models with horrible picture quality. Unfortunately for OLED that was then and this is now.

[Xaje @ Mar 19th 2008 6:18AM]

Here's the Babelfish translation of Sony Japan's product page:

http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Style-e/Product/Tv/Organic/XEL1/

[Willen @ Mar 19th 2008 6:31AM]

The Ethernet port got the boot in non-Japanese models in favor of a second HDMI. So stop looking for one.

There are a few other differences, mainly dealing with TV tuners. It's been a while since I had my hands on the Japanese model, so I've forgotten the details.

[Jason Woods @ Mar 19th 2008 8:17AM]

I've actually seen this monitor and its small but probably the best looking quality I have seen out of any tv ever im serious!!! Go to the closest Sony Style store to check it out

[PINE @ Mar 19th 2008 9:42AM]

I'm not buying the whole concept. Look at the footprint of that thing! My screen on my macbook pro isn't much thicker but it has a big base to it doing all the world. I personally think that "TV" is hideous. So what the screen is 3mm, the base is huge and the whole thing is just ugly. It'd look better if the base was slapped on the back and wall mounted. Screw thin.

[GregBaz @ Mar 19th 2008 11:29AM]

Saw this at Electronics Expo in Wayne NJ (www.electronics-expo.com) I thisnk the price was $2800. Is has a great picture (id was being run off a blue ray player) but like all sony tvs it was way too red.
The only reason to buy this is to have the latest and newest and not care about how much money you have.

[paulfrancosky @ Mar 19th 2008 12:43PM]

The company I work for as the 70 inch OLED Sony tv on our inventory screen. It's listed at $35,000 bucks..

[RandomNY @ Mar 19th 2008 12:45PM]

Sorry for the double post... disregard this post, the post by RandomNY is the correct post..

[RandomNY @ Mar 19th 2008 12:44PM]

The company I work for has the 70 inch OLED TV from SONY, it's being listed at $33,000 bucks we currently have 2 on Display in a couple of stores, none in actual stock yet.

[inside the machine @ Mar 23rd 2008 3:37PM]

no company has a 70" OLED currently... not even Sony.

The model you are referring to is the 70" Bravia XBR LCD.

Stunning unit and priced around 30k-38k currently.

[David @ Mar 19th 2008 3:17PM]

Worthlesss waste of materials! Nearly as bad as purchasing a hummer.

[Garst @ Mar 19th 2008 5:28PM]

I am not at all impressed by Sony's "3 mm thick" TV. Seems how you can't remove the base because everything to make it a TV is in the base, it's not truely 3 mm thick.

[Bfwiat @ Mar 27th 2008 8:31PM]

A couple of points - this model is the first commercially available OLED screen of this size available to market where the expected life of the unit is 20 000 hrs of use . . .other companies are struggling for more than 5000 hrs of use. . . I guess Sony is merely stating "we have just about got this technology licked, nobody else has yet.
Secondly, I have seen this playing of a BluRay (spiderman 3), and the picture looked AMAZING! Almost 3 dimensional. The contrast ratio is 1 million to one on this sucker. . . you have to see it to really appreciate the sense of depth that brings to the picture, not to mention the fact you can view it in full daylight . . . this technology will revolutionise mobile computing.
Thirdly, of course they are working on a larger screen, I have it on good information that Sony are hoping to have a 22inch screen available in the next 12 - 18 months. . . if so, I can't wait to see that !!!