Sony Stops Selling OLED TVs in Japan

Sony has reportedly announced that it will no longer be making OLED TVs for the Japanese market and will end sales of such products as soon as its inventory is depleted, because the technology itself makes it difficult for OLED panels to be produced cheaply. This fact has impaired the company's ability to bring OLED to the mainstream, especially in today's market, where LED-backlit LCDs and 3D TVs are growing in popularity and size.

"As flat panel TVs are getting bigger and cheaper, hurdles for OLED models have become higher, at least in the short term," Hisakazu Torii, vice president of Japanese TV market research at DisplaySearch, said.

The only OLED model that Sony is selling in Japan is one that measures 11 inches and carries a price tag of 200,000 yen ($2,222). This price is significantly higher than that of flat TVs. Back in 2007, when Sony sold its first such TV, it saw it as crucial in recovering its status as innovator. Around that time, the company was surpassed by Nintendo, on the gaming front, and by Apple, in portable music.

"I want this world's first OLED TV to be the symbol of the revival of Sony's technological prowess. I want this to be the flag under which we charge forwards to turn the fortunes around," then-president Ryoji Chubachi explained during a briefing in October 2007.

Organic light-emitting diodes use carbon-containing compounds that emit light when electricity is applied. This allows for crisp images without the need for backlighting, which translates into a lower power consumption. Still, after two years since its launch, OLED is still far from being price competitive with the other existing technologies. Though it will continue researching the technology, Sony will be halting production in Japan and will only continue selling OLED TVs on overseas markets such as North America and Europe.

Sony did not mention how many OLED models it had sold, but DisplaySearch estimates worldwide shipments of only 2,000 units in 2009.