LG Preps Unbreakable OLED displays

The company apparently is building a flexible OLED screen production line for about $176 million. The factory will reportedly produce 730 × 460 mm displays, but there is no information about when production will start. Some reports put the production beginning at the end of this year, but more conservative estimates state that LG will not be able to manufacture flexible OLED screens until 2013 or even 2014.

Unbreakable OLED displays could be used in future gadgets such as smartphones and tablets, wearable electronics as well as custom shaped consumer electronics such as a new generation of TVs. In separate news, LG is rumored to soon be launching 55-inch OLED TVs in the U.S. At $8,000 or $9,000, the TVs may be insanely expensive, but a bargain for those who value being the first to have their hands on new technology. Remember Sharp's 108-inch LCD TV that was shown at CES and shipped in small numbers to selected customers? That TV went for $180,000 initially.

It is unlikely that we will be seeing those flexible OLED displays in any application at least until 2013, but there is reason to believe that there is considerable room for product innovation that could ring in a new era of consumer electronics.

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Douglas Perry was a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware covering semiconductors, storage technology, quantum computing, and processor power delivery. He has authored several books and is currently an editor for The Oregonian/OregonLive.