Matsushita Planning 37-inch OLED TVs?

Reports have Japan's Matsushita aiming to mass-produce 37-inch OLED televisions within three years, potentially jump-starting the OLED market.

According to the Japanese trade daily Sankei Shimbun, electronics giant Matsushita—still in the process of transitioning its corporate identity to its better-known sub-brand Panasonic—is putting the finishing touches on plans to mass-produce 37-inch OLED televisions within three years. If the plans bear out, it would make Matsushita the first manufacturer producing OLED televisions over 30 inches in size, and could enable Matsushita to challenge Samsung for the top spot in the flat-screen television market.

According to the report, Matsushita is considering initial prices around ¥150,000 (roughly $1,400), although Matsushita itself said only that the company is working on commercializing OLED televisions at some point in the future.

Sony launched an 11-inch OLED television in late 2007, bringing it to the United States early this year. Japan’s Toshiba and South Korea’s Samsung are also developing OLED televisions, although so far Matsushita’s proposed 37-inch size would be the largest of the bunch. OLED panels are considerably slimmer than traditional LCDs and use less energy since they don’t require backlighting.

Late last year, Toshiba and Matsushita ditched a joint effort to enter the OLED television market with a 30-inch unit, following difficulties getting the system from research to production. They had planned to offer the 30-inch set in 2009.