LG

UDC has been awarded a 750K$ contract from the US Air Force, to work on a non-glass, ejection-safe, flexible OLED display prototype for prospective use by pilots in tactical cockpit settings.

The idea is to provide pilots with a replacement for printed maps and checklists typically held on their knees. The pilots will be able to 'wrap' the OLED around a cylinder for easy storage during flight.

UDC are working on their flexible OLED together with L3 and LG Display, and have already shown some wearable (bracelet) prototypes before. The displays are energy efficient, offer full-color video rate and have wireless communications capabilities.

UDC, LG and L3 will deliver four prototypes based on a bright 6” diagonal, full-color, low power consumption PHOLED display on flexible metal foil. These displays will then be wrapped around cylinders containing power supplies and wireless communications electronics.

LG Display says they have signed an agreement with Japan's Idemitsu Kosan for OLED materials. LG sees OLEDs growing rapidly, and they want a stable soruce for materials.

Idemitsu Kosan are also working with Sony and UDC on OLED display materials.

LG display plans to start making larger panels towards the end of 2009, and to sell OLED TVs in December 2009 or January 2010 in Korea. They expect the market to reach over 3B$ in 2010 (citing DisplaySearch numbers).

David Critchley, a marketing manager for Lenovo, says that Lenovo will consider releasing a slim model of its T500 with 15" OLED screen "if demand is there". Lenovo are also considering multi-touch screens.

It's not a huge commitment by Lenovo (I'm sure most laptop makers will be happy to have an OLED "if they see demand") - but it's good to see that Lenovo is aware of OLEDs. I'm also guessing that LG are starting to talk to laptop makers about their upcoming 15" OLED TV panels, that can also be used in laptops.

LG Display is one of the leaders in OLEDs, but they have recently sent some mixed messages - great OLED TV prototypes, promises of new OLED TV products soon,  no AMOLED phones plans... Mr Won Kim, Vice Presideont of OLED Sales and Marketing from LG Display has agreed to answer a few questions we had, and set things straight.

Mr Won Kim ha sas BA in business management from Korea University, and has been working for LG since 1984. Now he's VP of OLED sales and marketing (since 2005).

Q: What kind of OLED products are LG currently selling? What is your current capacity for OLED production?
Mobile phone only. Current capacity is 7k sheets(365 x 460) per month, which is equivalent to 200k pcs of 3" size.

Q: Can you name some products that use your OLED displays?
So far two mobile phones tailored to SKT in Korea.

Q: You have been showing a 15" OLED TV prototype since the beginning of 2009...  and you said it can begin production by June 2009. Which is now.. will you start making these panels? Or are you still waiting for a customer?
During the period of Dec 2009-Jan 2010, our customer will launch 15" OLED TV in Korean market. Thereafter global roll-out follows.

LG is giving some interesting updates on its mobile phone plans. They want to focus on 'customized' and UI-focused phones. They also said they have no plans to release an AMOLED phone, as these are 'too expensive'. The do want to open an 'LG App Store' in July to share content for mobile applications.

LG claims that Samsung are only trying to show they are a cutting-edge company by releasing OLED phones, but these do not appeal to 'real consumers'. 

LG is showing their 15" OLED TVs. To show how tough they are, they are hitting them with hammers...

The OLED is only 0.85mm thick, with 1366x768 resolution at 105ppi. The contast is 100,000:1, and the refresh rate is 120Hz. The OLED is built on a glass substrate with a steel-sheet on the back-side and a resin sealing layer on the front - this makes it durable to shock, as they demonstrate with the hammer...

via TechOn

UDC and LG has been showing a wrist-worn flexible OLED prototype for a long time now. They have released some new information on the display today.

The display is 4", supporting 320x240 pixels at 100ppi. The luminance is 100cd/m2, contrast 1,000:1. The whole panel is 0.3mm thick, with a steel plate as substrate, using amorphous Si TFT. It weights 8g. 

Via TechOn

Samsung electronics and LG has announced that they will co-develop OLED deposition equipment. The two companies are also working on joint R&D projects for LCD equipment. 

Via Chosun

There was a blog post last week at HCC that claimed that Sony are giving up on OLED TVs. According to the blog post, DisplaySearch are predicting that the main players in OLED TVs the next 5 years will be Samsung, LG, Toshiba and Panasonic. Sony is not on the list.

Now a blog post on ZDNet says they have discussed this with a Sony spokesperson who says that Sony are "fully committed" to OLED TVs. Good to hear that. I guess we'll know more at IFA 2009. If Sony will indeed launch a new, larger OLED TV, it should make Sony's position a bit clearer...

Today Universal Display is showing their PHOLED technology at EcoFocus NY. 

UDC Flexible OLED Display Concept

Among the product prototypes will be Universal Display’s wrist-worn, flexible PHOLED display, developed jointly with LG Display and L-3 Communications for the U.S. Department of Defense. In addition, the company will showcase a scaled white PHOLED lighting atrium, transparent PHOLED pixels, and commercial products that currently use Universal Display’s PHOLED technology.

We don't have any new photos yet, but hopefully we'll get some during the day.