Sony's hush-hush 'Drive' has appeared properly in Japan in the shape of an OLED television that sits at a supermodel sweat-inducing 3mm thick.
Claiming the XEL-1 is a world first, it boasts some ludicrous specifications by any standard, but perhaps all the more so considering it's only an 11in screen.
Using OLED, as opposed to the more familiar LCD (or plasma), technology based on electroluminescent organic materials, the set creates its own light source and so doesn't need to be backlit, hence the wafer thin credentials.
The XEL-1 also offers an incomparable 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio with a 960x540 resolution, video relay 1,000 times faster than LCD and a 40 per cent lower energy consumption that's bound to please the greenies. There's also a built-in TV tuner, speakers and HDMI, USB and Ethernet connections.
Going on sale in Japan for 200,000 yen (around £850 at current exchange rates), it's by no means cheap. Which is why Sony executive deputy president Katsumi Ihara has said the technology would not replace existing LCD TVs until they can be made bigger and cheaper.
It's not all roses though, as the new OLED TV has a life of around 30,000 viewing hours, which equates to around ten years at eight hours viewing a day. An equivalent LCD TV has double the lifespan.
Sony's latest is a definite sign of things to come and will likely rattle the cage of the likes of Sharp whose 20mm thick LCD screen was debuted at this year's IFA but now looks positively bloated in comparison.
Check the link, but best brush up on your Japanese first.
www.sony.jp
