Sony to sell ultra-thin OEL TVs this year: Nikkei

Tokyo, Apr 12: Sony Corp. plans to start sales of ultra-thin next-generation TVs this year and will begin by mass producing about 1,000 11-inch organic electroluminescent (OEL) TVs per month, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.

ST Liquid Crystal Display Corp., a 50-50 joint venture between Sony and Toyota Industries Corp. will make the 3 millimetre panels, and Sony will use an existing plant to assemble the TVs, the paper said.

OEL panels, which emit light when an electrical charge is passed through the surface, are lighter and thinner than existing LCD panels or plasma displays, and boast higher contrast pictures, but are also more expensive.

Sony hopes to keep the TVs priced at within a few times of existing flat TVs, which have seen steep price declines, and will target corporate advertising as well as households, the Nikkei said.

Reuters