In Japan, Sony's done with OLED

Sony has confirmed that it will stop selling OLED televisions in Japan due to poor sales. Is anyone surprised?

OLED TVs produce brilliant pictures in a thin frame, and they tend to consume less power than their LED counterparts. But large-screen OLED televisions are not yet a reality, and even the 11-inch set Sony sells in Japan is a luxury, priced at roughly $2,222. Sony won't say how many OLED televisions it has sold, but DisplaySearch estimates that Sony shipped 2,000 of them last year, Reuters reports.

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Sony has already stopped production in Japan, but will continue to sell OLED televisions overseas. Still, I wonder how long that will last. Last year, the company halted development of OLED technology due to poor performance in its TV division. If the company's done selling OLED televisions in its home country, and it's no longer investing in developing the technology behind it, that paints a pretty bleak picture for the future of Sony and OLED.

Other companies are pushing ahead; A report from Tech-On earlier this month said LG is still working on large-screen OLED displays, and expects to have a 40-inch television on the market in 2012. But even LG recognizes that the technology is no longer necessary in televisions. Advancements in LCD and LED-backlit displays allow for contrast ratios on par with OLED in equally thin frames, without the reliability problems that currently prevent OLED from hitting the big screen. So while it may be possible to purchase a 40-inch OLED television in 2012, LG is mostly developing the technology for advertising and other novelty uses.

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It seems that Sony's putting all its eggs in the 3D basket as the next big thing in televisions, as the company prepares to launch its first high definition integrated 3D television this year. Sony's also releasing 3D Blu-ray players and updating the Playstation 3, via a firmware update, to support 3D this summer.

Sony is also collaborating with others on a 3D television network for the United States. I have my doubts about 3D, but at least it seems more promising than OLED.

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