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Samsung in 'last-stage talks' to use Google TV, will show off hardware after CES
The true second act of Google TV won't take place until new hardware hits the streets, and Reuters reports that while Samsung is still on board, it will unveil its product(s) next year at an event other than CES. There's no word on when or where we might see hardware from other partners like LG, but at last year's show Vizio and Samsung (pictured above) were the only ones to display their efforts. TV division prez Yoon Boo-keun confirmed the company was working with Google on the rollout, and apparently indicated Samsung's service would "differ" from competitors. We'll have to find out what that means, but in the meantime what we can expect to see in Las Vegas are OLED TVs, which he said Samsung would have on display. After being teased by countless concepts, we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for price tags and shipping dates, but those details will likely remain under wraps until January.
LG says it will mass produce large OLED panels by 2013, aims for market domination
LG has plucked our heart strings once again by announcing on its Q4 earnings call that its mass production of large OLED panels will ramp up at the end of 2013. In other words, the schedule it laid out a little less than a year ago to triple OLED production via a $226 million facility expansion is still on track -- which is pretty amazing given that other OLED schedules we've seen have been 90 percent fantasy and 10 percent hype. On the same call, vice president of LG Display Jung Ho also took the opportunity to share the company's goal of becoming the market leader in OLED TV. Considering LG has already announced plans to release a 31-inch 3D OLED set in the US and Europe this year with a 55-inch prototype following in 2012 -- it seems Samsung may now have a real fight on its hands for OLED dominance that it can't dance its way out of. No matter who wins, though, the possibility of ultra-thin TVs gracing our walls is definitely getting brighter.
LG parading 31-inch OLED TV among other sets at IFA 2010
We've been tracking LG OLED TV production rumors for nearly as long as Bieber's been alive, and recently got wind that their ultra-thin 7mm LED TV would be appearing at IFA this year, but now more news has materialized. According to OLED-Display, the company plans to show a new 31-inch OLED television prototype in addition to confidence-compensating 72-inch 3D LED TV. Sadly, other critical details like resolution and pricing are nowhere to be found, but considering the company's 15-inch EL9500 OLED -- which we're still waiting for stateside -- is selling for close to $2,400 in the UK, it's fair to assume a model double in size will be a Kanye-level extravagance. Seeing a larger OLED example before 2011 though will be a step in the right direction for LG, and appears to fall in line with the company's own rollout predictions.
LG's 15-inch 15EL9500 OLED TV sets sail for Europe, scheduled to arrive this May
We've had only tantalizingly brief (or is it briefly tantalizing?) chances to see LG's glorious OLED television, but each and every time it's left us with the feeling that our lives are poorer for not having one in our homes. Sure, that says as much about our tech addiction as it does about the 3mm-thick displays, but at least the deep-pocketed among us won't have to wait too much longer to sate the need for 10,000,000:1 contrast ratios and 0.001ms response times. LG has announced it'll be bringing it's 15-inch OLED panel to Europe this May (to be swiftly followed by summer availability in the US) with a hefty MSRP sticker of €1,999 ($2,725) for the Austrian market. Nobody ever said the cutting edge was gonna be a cheap place to live.
Researchers developing OLEDs as cheap as newspapers?
Sure, it'll probably be a good while before you get your hands on an OLED TV, but don't lose heart, young gadget-head! Techno-wizards at the RIKEN center in Japan have concocted a new way to fashion OLEDs that eschews the standard spin-coated films for something called electrospray-deposited polymer films, incorporating "a novel dual-solvent concept" that makes the 'em "smoother than before, thereby enabling [...] superior devices." We'll skip a few details that don't mean anything to those of us who aren't Advanced Materials subscribers (hit the read link for more info) and get to the good stuff: Yutaka Yamagata, the guy who developed this technique, says it will lead to displays "manufactured as inexpensively as printing newspapers." Is that a promise, Yutaka? If so, we're holding you to it. [Via OLED-Info]
Seiko Epson envisions large inkjet-printed OLED TVs, unicorns for all in 2012
As much as we'd like to put stock in Satoru Miyashita's forecast, we're still hesitant to believe that we're just two Consumer Electronic Shows away from seeing big-screen OLED TVs for sale. After Sony's polarizing XEL-1 hit the scene around two years ago, we've seen an anemic amount of action in the commercial OLED TV space. Sure, we've heard promise after promise, but we've still got no solid evidence that a large-screen set is anywhere near a Sam's Club shelf. In a recent interview with the general manager of Seiko Epson's Core Technology Development Center, OLED-Info managed to get this out of the exec: "We see 2012 as being the year that 37"+ OLED TVs will be launched by various makers, and 2015 as the year that sales will really take off for this market." He's referring to the year in which OEMs will begin to use its new inkjet-printing approach to making OLED TVs, which will hopefully allow for easier development of larger panels. 'Til then, we suppose we'll just have to be content with using the Zune HD as our primary television.
Samsung slaps "production-ready" label on 14.1- and 31-inch OLED TVs
Samsung's been kicking around its 14.1- and 31-inch OLED TVs since CES 2008, but it seems as if things are turning for the better at SID this week. In a press release outed today, Sammy told the world that it's exhibiting "production-ready" AMOLED TV sets, though the sizes are the same as the ones we've seen before. The 31-incher really has our attention, with it being the planet's first OLED with a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) display, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, a color gamut of over 100 percent NTSC and an 8.9 millimeter slim enclosure. So, when does "production-ready" morph into "in production?" Bueller?[Via OLED-Display]
DuPont crafts ultra longevous OLED materials, which likely won't be affordable
DuPont's been dabbling in OLED advancement for years now, and while the world waits for the introduction of market-ready big-screen OLED HDTVs, engineers at the miracle-working company are toiling away to make sure those very sets last quite some time. For anyone following the OLED TV scene, you'll know that luminance longevity has been a nagging issue, but if new developments pan out, stamina will be the least of our worries. In fact, the firm has crafted a green light-emitting material that can purportedly push onward for over a hundred years... continuously. Furthermore, the same scientists have engineered a new blue light-emitting material with a luminance half-life of 38,000 hours along with a red light-emitting material with a life of 62,000 hours. Unfortunately for the laypeople out there, we can't imagine this stuff being even marginally affordable -- but hey, it's great news for the sybarites!
Seiko Epson's inkjet tech brings big-screen OLED TVs closer to reality
We know it's been burning on your mind everyday since December 6th, 2007: "What on Earth are those guys and gals over at Seiko Epson doing now that they've killed production of RPTVs?" At long last, we've located an answer. According to a prideful new release from the outfit, it has developed a new inkjet technology that will enable the "uniform deposition of organic material in the production of large-screen OLED TVs." For what seems like years now, manufacturers have teased us with 37-inch OLED HDTVs, but they've skirted around questions relating to "price" and "release." Now, the last remaining excuse seems to have been vaporized, so if we don't see a market-ready big-screen OLED at CES 2010... well, let's just say the knee-capping club is dying for a reason to reunite.[Via Akihabara News]
Sony to finally unveil larger-screen OLED TVs at IFA?
We've been waiting for what seems like ages for the next iteration of the XEL-1 to dash in and swoop us off of our feet, but frankly, we're growing anxious. As the world waits for a commercial-ready OLED TV that's larger than a standard sheet of paper, industry insiders down at the IFA briefings in Malta this past week believe that Sony could be gearing up to make all sorts of hopes and dreams come true this September. Jens Heithecker, executive director of Messe Berlin, which organizes the IFA trade fair, noted that "IFA is a trade show which is focused more on market-ready technologies," hinting that anything we see in just a few short months will be prepared for release into the wild. We're also told that more "ultra-widescreen" 21:9 sets -- like Philips' masterpiece -- could be on display, not to mention scores of internet-ready HDTVs and a Samsung set with refresh rates of 400Hz. Needless to say, IFA's shaping up to be quite a show for the television sector, so you may want to think twice (or thrice, if necessary) about snagging a new panel on August 31st.[Via OLED-Info]
Samsung flip-flops, says mainstream OLED TVs still 5 years out
Hey, wait just a cotton-pickin' minute here! Last April, we caught Samsung asserting that it figured affordable medium-to-large size OLED TVs would be available in 2009 / 2010. Now, we've got Samsung Europe's new President and CEO telling us that "mainstream" OLED sets are still five years out. Believe it or not, said bigwig was quoted as saying that "when it comes to OLED, we have several issues to overcome in terms of technology and production cost," and that it would be "at least four to five years before we see OLED in the market place." Of course, such a quip is to be expected given the quantity of dollars Sammy has poured into LCD, but we're still a bit dismayed by the news. Hear that, entrepreneurs of the world? The time's about right for an OLED-only startup to beat every last one of these traditional powerhouses to the punch.
