Samsung has started selling an ultra-thin curved OLED TV in South Korea with a sticker price of $13,000. It's a steep price tag, no doubt, but Samsung curved OLED TV makes use of two technologies that will help the company keep its place as No.1 in the global TV market. The pricey television utilizes lighter organic light emitting diode and ultrahigh-definition technology that is four times better than existing sets.
The curved screen of the Samsung OLED TV makes the viewing experience more immersive, according to the manufacturer. The shape of the TV set makes it easier for the human eye to view the images.
"OLED is about picture quality. We are sure that we realized the perfect picture quality," said Kim Hyunsuk, executive vice president of the TV division at Samsung, in an interview with Fox News.
According to Kim, Samsung will sell its newest OLED TV in other markets by July 2013.
A report on Wall Street Journal said that analysts see the rollout of the OLED TV as more of a publicity stunt rather than aiming to sell big volumes of the new set.
Sony was the first to introduce OLED TV back in 2007. Due to the cost of the technology, the company struggled with manufacturing bigger TV sets. The company did not see the profitability of the OLED TV niche and it would have caused big losses for the company. Sony has not ventured into making OLED TVs since 2007 but is currently collaborating with Panasonic to come up with a better way of producing OLED TVs.
In May, LG Electronics sold its first 55-inch curved OLED television in South Korea at approximately the same price as Samsung's. At the moment, LG is not selling its OLED TVs in other countries.
Samsung has invested a lot in developing OLED technology that introduces superthin structures that are a lot more energy efficient that current TV sets and do not require any backlight. However, the real game-changer for the OLED TV niche will be when the manufacturing cost will come down so that more affordable TVs land in the market.
