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October 6, 2009 12:55 AM PDT

Sony Vaio, Walkman, Reader get OLED treatment

by Erica Ogg
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Sony OLED Vaio

Sony's flexible OLED-based Vaio notebook--not coming to a store near you.

(Credit: Scott Ard/CNET)

CHIBA, Japan--Perhaps to distract from the fact that it has no organic light-emitting diode TV on display here at Ceatec 2009, Sony is instead showing off conceptual uses for its flexible OLED technology.

Mind you, these are just prototypes, nothing even close to a real product, like the XEL-1 TV that Sony actually sells but is notably absent from its booth here. But the ways the company is thinking of perhaps using its flexible display tech are certainly cool.

Take the dual OLED screen Vaio notebook. It features the 0.2 mm OLED on both the screen and keyboard area. It's not a functioning prototype, though, so it doesn't do much besides sit in a plexiglass case and look pretty.

Also showcased here is the company's e-book Reader with an OLED screen and a futuristic update of the time-worn Walkman brand, in which the audio player takes the form of a wearable wrist device.

As cool as those are, they're just concepts. And none of them can make us forget that Sony was once the leader in commercializing OLED TVs and now seems content to let LG and Samsung take charge.

Vaio flexible OLED

Vaio with flexible OLED screen.

(Credit: Scott Ard/CNET)

Reader Walkman OLED

The Sony Reader and Walkman redone with flexible OLED technology.

(Credit: Scott Ard/CNET)

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.
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by js.matrix October 6, 2009 3:26 AM PDT
I'll be there tomorrow to check out the equipment in person. I am more interested in the advancements being made in DSLR cameras (like the new Canon EOS 7D with dual digic-4 processors) and the advancements being made in their HD video capabilities then in Sony's future tense OLED stuff.
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by Rod Roddy October 6, 2009 11:42 AM PDT
That laptop and reader look interesting. Seems like something Apple may want to look into, but alas Apple is more interested in your wallet so they'd rather stick to polished aluminum cases and scratch-proof glass to charge you an arm and a leg. Just keepin' it real.
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by ikramerica--2008 October 6, 2009 4:19 PM PDT
Trolly Gummy Worms.
by l12349 October 6, 2009 12:13 PM PDT
that OLED surely has big glare
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by ikramerica--2008 October 6, 2009 4:19 PM PDT
It need not. I think SONY just made the surface extra shiny for display purposes, since those aren't actually working units.
by richard993 October 7, 2009 1:55 AM PDT
The glare has nothing to do with the OLED technology itself. It's all about the coating. CRT, LCD and TFT all had glares when they first came out (prototypes and early releases) before they started coating them with an anti-glare film.
by Rod Roddy October 6, 2009 9:08 PM PDT
@ ikramerica--2008
Trolli Gummy worms are good, much better than polished aluminum and scratch proof glass :-)
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by jerry9920 October 7, 2009 6:00 AM PDT
I am more interested in this OLED.

nuvav.com
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by callandor87 October 12, 2009 8:30 AM PDT
That looks amazing!

I'm assuming its touch because there would be no way to input data otherwise.

But touch + shiny = fingerprints galore.
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