Toshiba 30-inch OLED display planned for 2009

Earlier this week Sony unveiled the first OLED display. Nice to see that the technology is finally making it to the market but with a size of only 11" and a pricetag of $1,744 not many people will be interested in this product.

By 2009 we can expect some better OLED displays. Toshiba claims that it's working on a 30" OLED TV that will be available in 2009:

Nishida is quoted by TechOn as saying Toshiba previously projected its OLED TVs to reach the market in “2015 to 2016.” Toshiba is also reportedly getting both high-end and commodity OLED TVs ready for consumers.

Part of the problem that makes OLED technology currently expensive and the lead-time for larger OLED TV screen sizes longer is the immaturity of the method for producing OLED panels. Current OLED panels are difficult to manufacture and degrade over time with a lifespan of only 30,000 hours according to PC World. The average LCD TV has a lifespan of around 50,000 hours.

The benefits of OLED technology in TVs are thinner screens and higher contrast ratios along with faster response times. OLED technology requires no backlighting, which allows for the much thinner cabinet sizes.

Source: DailyTech.