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Sony and Panasonic agree to co-develop large OLED panels for TVs by 2013

Sony and Panasonic agree to co-develop large OLED panels for TVs by 2013

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Sony and Panasonic agree to develop large OLED panels and modules for TVs.

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Sony logo NYC HQ (STOCK)
Sony logo NYC HQ (STOCK)

The rumored partnership between Sony and Panasonic to build OLED TVs is now a signed deal. The two Japanese giants who've been struggling for television profits have inked a deal to jointly develop large-sized OLED panels and modules for TVs. The deal involves the co-development of printing-based OLED technologies suitable for the mass production of large, low-cost, high-resolution OLED panels and modules by 2013. While the agreement calls for Sony and Panasonic to collaborate on the underlying technologies and panels, the two companies will develop and commercialize large OLED televisions under their own brands.

Sony was the first company to commercialize an OLED TV with the launch of its 11-inch model back in 2007. In January of this year, reports surfaced that Sony would be abandoning the OLED TV market just as LG and Samsung were announcing their very first OLED televisions. With the underlying technologies available next year, it's conceivable that Sony and Panasonic could join their South Korean competition with large OLED TVs of their own by late 2013 or 2014.