LG to steal Sony's superthin OLED TV crown, what's the odds?

Is OLED finally about to break cover and make a run for the mainstream? Currently only available in the form of Sony’s trend-setting XEL-1 TV, OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) has remained a difficult proposition for panel-makers to develop.
The fabrication process is complex and yields are poor; and with major advances in both LCD and plasma still coming apace, there seems little commercial desire to persevere.
So who are the main players in OLED and what are the odds of them showing new OLED TVs before the year is out?

LG – Odds-on favourite
LG, buoyed by a reported $500m investment by Apple to develop OLED display tech, seems the most likely candidate to push forward with OLED. LG Display’s VP of OLED sales and marketing Won Kim, in a recent interview with OLED-info.com, maintains that a 15inch screen will ship into the Korean market in December with a worldwide roll-out to follow in 2010.  With a claimed 1,000,000:1 contrast, high-resolution 1,366 x 768 panel and 30,000-hour lifespan, it could be the hot new tech toy of the year.

Samsung - Evens
LG’s main CE rival Samsung has shown prototypes covering most screen sizes up to 31in, but the brand has repeatedly played down any short-term introductions.
However, it’s most recent proto panel-tease, a 31inch model with 1920x1080 pixel structure, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 8.9mm depth remains undeniably impressive. But with a new focus on LED backlit LCD TVs, and a desire to corner the volume end of the market, OLED is likely to be more a distraction than a direction for the brand.

Panasonic – Rank outsider
Japan’s top CE brand might seem to have more reason than most to fast-track OLED. It could do with some headline grabbing display technology to partner its plasma line, and it certainly has the facilities and technical chops to make significant progress. Yet it has given little concrete indication that it wants to bring forward its own OLED agenda, having stated in the past that it’s not looking to push the technology much before 2015.
However a recently announced partnership with Sumitomo Chemical to co-develop large screen panels might indicate a quite change of tactic. Could Panasonic OLED actually arrive as early as 2010? Or is the company more likely to be tied-up promoting 3D over the next 18 months?

Sony – each-way punt
Sony was the first to launch an OLED screen, in the shape of the cute but hideously expensive XEL-1 (click here for the inside story on the making of the XEL-1), currently available in only limited quantities in Japan, American and Europe. Ever since it has been playing its OLED cards close to its chest, and whether through accident or design, continues to send out mixed messages.

However, Sony remains the only Japanese brand ready to pursue OLED with any conviction. We’re fully expecting that this autumn’s round of trade shows will see the Big S reveal of a new 20/21inch OLED display, to join its little sibling. The new screen could appear at IFA (Berlin, 4 -9 September), but a showing on Sony's home turf, at the Japanese CEATEC show (Tokyo, September 30 -October 4) looks more likely.