Panasonic still cautious on OLED TVs
CHIBA, Japan--Already skeptical about the ability of OLED to uproot the TV technology dominance of plasma and LCD in the next few years, Panasonic cast even more doubt on the opening day of Ceatec 2008.
Speaking to a group of reporters, Panasonic AVC Networks President Toshihiro Sakamoto reiterated that OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TVs will not be made in sizes of 30 inches or greater for now, and it's still not suitable for mass manufacturing. Currently, Panasonic does not have an OLED product on the market, but Sony does: it makes and 11-inch OLED TV, and is working on a 27-inch model.
Though Panasonic is working on making its own OLED set, Sakamoto said "we may have to redefine the market position of OLED."
His quasi-cryptic comments indicate that LCD and plasma are here to stay for a while, and that the mass production of OLED TVs could be even further off than his .
It's also not clear that we need OLED TVs before then. They're still prohibitively expensive, small, and LCD and plasma are continuing to make great gains. Here at Ceatec, for example, several major TV makers like Sharp, Toshiba, Sony, and Panasonic are showing off incredibly thin TVs as well as those with decreased power consumption, both features of OLED.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
- by iconoclastt October 1, 2008 9:53 PM PDT
- YEAH!!! I remember when Compact Discs first were introduced. The very same comments as those previous posters were all around, but you know the rest of the story!!! LOL
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