Sony bets the farm on organic panels
SONY WILL INVEST 22 billion yen (that’s £103 million) to develop technology for the next big thing in audio visual technology. Namely, huge, higher-definition organic electroluminescence (EL) panels, according to nikkei.net.
Sony’s not spending the money on research: that’s all done. The investment will go on revamping manufacturing facilities for the organic EL panels. By the second half of next year, they should be knocking out these new audio-visual beauties.
By 2010, they’ll be in the hands of IT distributors, like Midwich in the UK, who will enthuse about the new margin opportunities, in seminars with their top resellers. By 2011, schools with be persuaded to invest in them, and skips up and down the country will be full of expensive plasma screens that our tax pounds bought to educate our children. Bah!
Anyway, Sony believes organic EL technology will significantly widen the scope for applications for audiovisual equipment, including televisions. (Like they're not wide enough already?)
EL panels project a glow very similar to neon, but with greater flexibility, as their directional light source is completely dimmable for great interior mood effects, as well as backlit displays. With widths of between a quarter to 30 inches, and lengths of up to 300 feet, EL flatlite can be used for virtually any application, apparently.
Last year Sony launched a small 11-inch super-thin OLED TV in Japan. µ
L'INQ
Read up on EL on
www.flexglow.com
Share this:
Business Intelligence Software
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Enterprise Accounting Software
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Enterprise Systems Management
Isn't that the technology which can be put on fabric?

I eagerly await roll up blind type TVs as featured in Back To The Future 2, not sure if the fax machines in every room including the toilet would take off though.

Rob
There will be a huge market for OLEDs and the like in the Lighting industry as well. 

Look at all the new designer lamps and bulbs they could make just by redesigning the shape of the light source.

One company I know, is designing office ceiling tiles to emit light. They change colour to simulate sunrise, midday and sunset.
So we can chav up our rooms and clothes as well as the underside of our cars.
103 million isn't exactly 'betting the farm' for sony is it now.
£103 million? Sounded better in Yen!
What's the cost of this stuff? It's worth about $1,000 to me if I can change the stuff written on my clothes whenever I want, especially if you can attach and detach from a special shirt and throw the shirt in the washing machine.

How about a t-shirt that automatically displays the new xkcd and CtrlAltDel comics. Give this stuff to the drunks at football games so they don't die of frostbite rooting for their team. Got a political issue? Mention it on your t-shirt minutes after you read about it online. How about a car that can display a For Sale sign, or maybe display information about a recent car-jacking? Lose your car in the parking lot? Let's make it flash the colors of the rainbow until you spot it.
This not new, we have been manufacturing this since 1994.
We light everything from bars to bannisters bridges to buildings even clothing for rock stars!
Check us out at www.californeon.com