LG has kicked off pre-orders for its latest 55-inch TV. Though a 55-inch panel in the home is nothing new, this TV is actually a 55-inch OLED panel as opposed to a regular LCD or LED display. Though the manufacturing process for OLED is more expensive, OLED layers are flexible and lighter and OLED displays don't require backlighting.
Because of the expense associated with producing OLED panels (especially larger ones), OLED TVs aren't all that common. This week, LG started taking orders for the 55-inch TV in Korea. First announced at CES 2012 and originally scheduled for launch some time last year, the TV just missed its deadline and is instead launching more than a year after it was announced. LG said orders will start shipping in February.
The TV sports passive 3D and a Full HD resolution. It weighs around 16 pounds and boasts a thickness of less than 4-mm. LG said last year that it was based on its Oxide TFT (which replaces Amorphous Silicon with a cheaper Oxide) White-OLED (WOLED) panel with color filters (RGBW).
"The OLED TV is the ultimate display device, a culmination of the sophisticated technological advances made by LG," said LG's James Fishler, senior vice president at LG Electronics USA, said at the TV's unveiling at CES 2012. "It is the TV of dreams."
Of course, the TV of dreams doesn't come cheap. Reuters writes that LG is asking $10,300 a pop. According to reports from last year, the TV will cost around $8000 when it launches in the United States. No word on whether or not that it still true, but we can expect the TV to arrive stateside during the first quarter of 2013. We'll keep you posted.
