TOKYO: Sony has revealed the most flexible video display yet. Its new ultra-thin organic light-emitting diode screen can be rolled up like a scroll. Sony released a video of the prototype super-flexible OLED, which it intends to demonstrate today at the Society for Information Display trade show in Seattle.
The video screen is said to be as thin as a human hair--80 micrometers thick. It can continuously display video while being spooled around a cylinder the size of a pencil, as Sony demonstrated in the released video. The prototype is around 4.1 inches across with a resolution of 432-by-240 pixels. It relies on organic thin-film transistors rather than integrated circuit chips, which allow its degree of flexibility. The super-flexible OLED will not likely become a standalone product, but eventually incorporated into mobile devices, Sony said.
Sony was the first electronics maker to bring an OLED video display to market in 2007 with the 11-inch rigid-screened XEL-1 TV. The model is still for sale in the United States, while sales have been halted in Japan. LG has since introduced a 15-inch OLED TV, and has plans to release a 40-incher in 2012. Several rigid OLED professional video monitors were displayed at the NAB Show in April, including a 7-inch field version from Sony.
See...
April 15, 2010: “NAB 2010: Sony at a Glance”
Sony debuted a slate of new professional gear at the 2010 NAB Show. TVB presents a brief summary.
February 16, 2010: “Sony to End OLED TV Sales in Japan”
A company spokesman said it produced about 2,000 sets per month, and that demand in Japan had “run its course.”
