Sony to launch world's first OLED ultra-thin TV

By Kiyoshi Takenaka

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said it will launch an ultra-thin flat TV in December, the world's first television based on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology into an $82 billion market dominated by LCD and plasma models.

OLED panels are energy efficient, make thin and light displays. They offer crisp pictures and have strength in showing fast-moving images, suitable for watching sports events and action movies, but size is proving a limitation.

Offering an innovative product to prop up its brand image is important for Sony, whose leading position in portable music players has long since been lost to Apple Inc's iPod.

The Tokyo-based electronics maker is also struggling in the video game market, which it had dominated for about a decade since the mid-1990s, with its PlayStation 3 console lagging far behind Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii in sales.

"Some people have said attractive products are slow to come at Sony despite its technological strength," Sony President Ryoji Chubachi told a news conference at its Tokyo headquarters.

"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," he said.

Sony, the world's No.2 liquid crystal display TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co, expects the 11-inch OLED TV with a thickness of 3 mm to sell for 200,000 yen ($1,740), almost as high as retail prices of some of its own 40-inch LCD models.

NO OVERNIGHT SUCCESS