OLED War: Samsung, LG To Out-Thin Sony - Analysts
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Its LG, Samsung V Sony, Panasonic battling for OLED TV domination. But who’ll win?
Its the Japs V Korean as TV makers Samsung and LG are currently in an LCD thin off against Japanese rivals Sony and Panasonic- all vying for the title of slimmest 55″ LCD TV.

And like supermodels on a catwalk, the TV giants will do anything to be thinnest of them all.

Both LG and Samsung, the biggest panel maker in the world, are currently developing uber thin Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) televisions that measure just 4mm (0.16″), meaning they will be thinner than an iPad.


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Pictured: LG’s OLED TV’s CES 2012.

LG’s ultra thin OLED Smart TV, which was a big hit at CES in January, features a new voice activated remote control, Cinema 3D and new BigPond TV content channels.

Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone already boasts OLED screen technology and will open the way for flexible, bendy screens in the future.

Samsung “Super OLED” TV also has similar dimensions than LG’s, although the Smart TV maker would not confirm precise dimensions at CES.

The super slim TVs may be on sale later this year but won’t come cheap selling at over $5000, say analysts. 

OLED uses missive organic material when supplied with an electrical current delivering a brighter screen with higher contrast, eliminating the need for back-lighting and using 20% less power than traditional LCDs.

Japanese maker Sony, the original pioneers of OLED, has no plans to launch an OLED TV with the company now struggling to keep up with both Samsung and LG in the TV market.

Japan’s other TV stalwart, Panasonic, has said that they are currently working on a new OLED TV with some speculating they may launch a model in time for Xmas 2012, although have yet to publicly reveal a prototype.

Read: New LG 55″ OLED TV Set To Launch Late 2012

 

OLED is set to be a $100m industry in the next three years, according to Bloomberg

And analysts now predict OLED TV could be the “gamechanger” the struggling LCD TV market so desperately needs.

That’s according to analyst Hyun Park, from Tong Yang Securities in Seoul, who tips the local players to win this particular TV battle:

“The Korean companies are leading the initial development stage. Sony and Japanese companies aren’t really responding” he told Bloomberg.