By Richard Adhikari
TechNewsWorld
01/02/13 2:27 PM PT
Click here to view full article
LG has beaten its rivals to the market with a 55-inch flat-screen television with an OLED screen. “The biggest issue is: Can they reduce the manufacturing costs to make these OLED TVs mainstream? We don’t think it’s possible to do so right away,” said Sweta Dash, senior director of display research and strategy at IHS iSuppli.
LG Electronics on Monday became the first manufacturer to make a 55-inch OLED TV available on the market, taking preorders in Korea for its device.
The device is the LG Model 55EM9700. It is listed at US$10,000, and will begin shipping in February.
With the announcement, LG has taken pole position in the race for the 55-inch OLED TV market over rival Samsung, and beaten out other possible contenders, including Sony and Toshiba.
LG describes the device as transformational, but “this is probably just bragging rights,” Andrew Eisner, director of community and content at Retrevo, remarked.
LG gave few details about the 55-inch Model 55EM9700 apart from a general blurb.
LG’s OLED TVs are 4 mm thick and weigh less than 22 lbs, use WRGB technology, LG’s Color Refiner technology and the company’s four-color pixel system. The 55-inch OLED TV also offers infinite contrast, the company said.
Perhaps a hint is available from LG’s reference to last year’s Consumer Electronics Show, at which it unveiled another 55-inch OLED TV, the 55EM960V.
Rumors on the Web have it that the earlier model was made over slightly and is now being announced as the 55EM9700.
The model demonstrated at CES 2012 used Kodak’s RGBW (red, green, blue, white) technology, which includes “white” or transparent filter elements that allow the photodiode to respond to all colors of light, and detect, rather than absorb, light. LG purchased Kodak’s RGBW color filter patents in 2009.
LG did not respond to our request for further details.